Legend's Rage
by Stormecho
Summary: A broken world with its peace torn to shreds; Pokemon turn on trainers or band together to prey upon travellers and the cities are battered and devastated. A field medic is thrown into play, pulled on strings she can't see. Over all, the watchers plot.
1. 0: Prologue

**AN: **Alright, let's try this again! Since Legend's Rage's quality was... deplorable in the beginning, I'm revamping it. Yay. I think my writing style is a lot better, so I got the urge to try it again... So, Legend's Rage, or LR, is a mix of game and anime-verse, or, to be more specific, the movies and the games There's a lump of the first generation arcs of the manga thrown in, but it's... just a reference, really. Since I _still _don't have any of the D/P/Pt games, the Pokemon and regions won't be mentioned as often, because I'm somewhat unfamiliar with them. Anyways, I do not own the Pokemon franchise. Yay?

* * *

They arrived soundlessly, drawn by guilt and fury and the need for revenge. Strong emotions, for stronger actions. There was no forgiving what had happened, what they saw in the eyes of the three that had been there from the start. The perfection of the balance they represented thrown off by the shadows that were left. There were not many – the birds came, flames and lightning and ice quieted by the gravity of the situation. Mew was there, blue eyes saddened by what fate had brought them all to. It was no surprise that a space had cleared around Ho-oh, and the sheer rage that radiated off the bird had ensured the others kept a wary distance from him and the heat that rippled off of him in waves. If there was any who had the ultimate claim to revenge, it was he, for they were his heralds, sent down to watch as humans grew in strength and ambition.

There was no question of leaving them in peace, of watching as the ambition grew and crippled those who would have let them live. Not even the protector of the forest could plead for peace. There were too many memories now, of burning towers and lives lost, reborn and then nearly lost again. Of balls that corrupted, of sleepers roused to anger and destruction, of greed that strangled those that would fly free. Too much, and as the mental barriers were released and the flood of disasters flashed through every mind, there was no hesitation.

At last, the most painful came, carried by the three beasts that had nearly been shattered, and even the knowledge that there had been a saviour for them was not enough. What could one human do against the ambition of so many? There was no forgiving all the crimes done to those who sought to protect and keep safe, and the balance had been skewed for too long. And so the memories were shared again, flowing in a continuing link through them all, and with little effort, the wave spread, touching the minds and hearts of those nearby. Images, flashing through so many, so many. The wave continued, spreading even more, and the ripples were felt. Anger, hatred, and vengeance pulsed through them all.

At last, they cut off the flow. The stones had been dropped into the still pond, and now the world hungered for justice. They dispersed, traveling to the domains that they had held for thousands of years, and those they watched over understood and accepted their duty. From the depths of the seas, where Lugia swam tirelessly, to the sky, the word borne on majestic wings... Even the cities were affected, Latios and Latias gliding unseen through the streets. There was no question if the others would obey – when they asked, all would do their bidding gladly. One was absent, the newest, born unnaturally and who had once sought the same sort of justice, but he was alone, and unneeded now.

The change would be slow, but when they acted, there would be no stopping the surge of violence, and through the price of blood, true peace would be bought. There was no higher price, but it had been agreed upon, settled because of blood already spilt and crimes that had nearly broken the world. There was too little that was still pure, and that was the heart of it all.

There was no forgiving.

* * *

Yes, that was horrendously short. Don't worry, the chapters are much longer. This is just to build up the ever-present suspense. Feel the doom! I'd be grateful for a review or two before I decide to put up the first chapter, just to let me know if I'm completely crazy or not.


	2. 1: The Fall

**AN: **So, here's chapter one. As I promised, much longer than the prologue. Sady, yes, this _will _be a violent fic. As expected in a first chapter, the main character appears. ...There's not much else to say, except that I don't own Pokemon. Enjoy? :D

Chapter 1: The Fall

Tala stared down at an arm marred by pale scars and the darkened remnants of burns. It was a rare time for contemplation – her days were busy, and she usually didn't have the energy to do anything but collapse onto her bed, but today's work had been lighter than usual. After a careful examination of a long, shallow gash on her wrist, she applied a leaf taken, with permission, from her Bellossom, and rebandaged it, before staring blankly at the wall. She didn't like not having anything to do. It felt strange, as if she hadn't done something right.

After a few minutes of staring, her eyes wandered over the rest of the room – a cheap wooden shelf in the corner, with books on medicine and the proper ways to treat Pokemon, the bed she was sitting on, a coffee table, a mini-fridge in the corner with food, both Pokemon and human... There was a rarely-used stove, as well, and that was it. The house had been quickly made, and she hadn't taken time to decorate it. As far as she knew, it could fall about her head in a minute, so what was the point of putting anything other than the neccessities in it? There was just a bathroom, and this room. It didn't even have the usual basement that one could escape to, the theory being that since she was a field medic, nothing would bother going this far to attack her.

There was the usual hum of the repel generators, designed to keep wild Pokemon away, but she had long since gotten used to the sound. There was nothing else to look at, and the windows showed the rather unnattractive view of a clouded night sky. Her fingers brushed the Pokeballs on her belt – it was dangerous to release them, especially if she was going to sleep soon, but they were high-leveled. The hesitation was hardly noticable, as she plucked one and released the Pokemon inside. The red light formed a large, lean canine, a faint scar visible on one leg. He shook his head, as if to lighten the weight of his rack of horns, and then sat down patiently. Tala stretched out a hand and splayed it against his furred neck, feeling the almost uncomfortable heat.

Her other hand went to her belt again, and the red light flickered once more, revealing her Bellossom, the red flowers on her head spinning slowly as she chirped a happy greeting.

"Sage, I want you to use Sweet Scent. Not too much, just something soothing." she murmured, and began to stroke her Houndoom's neck, to calm herself. "Flare, you watch her, and if she looks threatening... blast her." She hated having to issue such an order – she trusted her Pokemon, but Flare was a good ten levels higher than Sage, and the difference meant he would be less susceptible to turn on her...

"Bell." the Grass-type chimed, and began to dance slowly, a delicate smell wafting through the room. Flare sneezed, but continued to gaze steadily at his teammate. Tala inched back, to give the pair some space in the cramped room, and turned off the light by her bed before sprawling out on it. She often slept in her clothes, rather than taking the time to change them – if an emergency occured, she was hardly going to be able to use the fact that she had been changing as an excuse for why she hadn't been fast enough to save a life.

She closed her eyes, and willed herself to go to sleep. Her muscles didn't hurt, she wasn't in all that much pain, and she lacked the usual, bone-deep fatigue, but if she stayed up any longer, she would be groggy in the morning, and she couldn't allow that. Eventually, she did fall asleep, as she knew she would. Her dreams were confused, filled with flitting shadows that often took shapes she refused to recognize, knowing that if she did, they would become real...

Beep.

Beep.

Beep-beep.

Beep-beep-beep-beep.

Beep-beep-beep-bee-bee-beep-b-

Her hand, groping around desperately, found something roughly circular, and she grabbed it and managed to open her eyes to look at it. Her Pokegear's screen was glowing, and after a moment she saw the words "Receiving Message". Below it, there was the option to view... She tiredly pressed the button and squinted.

"-ala! Tala! Turn on your damn Pokegear alrea – oh. Good, you're up." The man sitting at a desk looked as tired as her – his blond hair was sticking up in all directions, and she could see dark circles under his eyes. "I know you were supposed to rest, but we need you for something. Redrick will meet you halfway – you're at Blackthorn, right?" He rubbed a hand through his hair, making it even worse.

"...Nemian? Eugh. Yeah, I'm at Blackthorn. What happened? Where?"

"There were less attacks yesterday because they were somehow planning something big this morning... The Seafoam Islands are a wreck. Cinnabar too. Dewford's been swamped..." Fear made her stomach clench – all those islands, with so many people... Were they all dead? Nemian lifted a hand to stall her questions. "That's not the worst part. Celadon City... it's been completely razed."

"_What?! _But there were so many people there, so many trainers and medics already..."

"I _know_. I think they're targeting commercial centres, now that the Pokemon Centers are all destroyed. I don't know who revived them, but a whole flock of Aerodactyl appeared, and a collective Rock Slide... You can imagine. They tried to fight them off, but the wild Pokemon distracted the trainers long enough for more than a few buildings to collapse. What isn't rubble is blanketed with vines – Erika's Pokemon lost control. The gym looks like a thicket." He poked at his desk, shook his head and sighed. "I need coffee. You will too. How're they holding up, with you?"

"Good. I'm worried about Sage, she's in the fifties, and we've seen that isn't anywhere near high enough... I have Flare around when I let her out now. I hate this." she replied, now awake and nauseous. So many dead, so much ruined... "I envy the Elite Four. They had the privilege to train their Pokemon to the limit, and they've all changed to Master Balls too. They won't get any surprises." She didn't care if her voice was bitter – her Pokemon were loyal. They didn't deserve to be twisted, to be forced to attack her for no apparent reason at all...

"Everyone envies them. But they're the ones keeping the regions together, you know. Now look, I really need coffee, and you need to get ready. Get whatever you can, but I know you don't have a good-sized bird Pokemon, so don't weigh yourself down too much. Couriers can send the rest of the stuff you need. Don't die, alright? We have few enough good ones as it is." The screen flashed once, and then returned to the usual dull black. Startled by the sudden lack of light, Tala groaned and sat up.

She felt the weight of the Pokeball, dangling from its chain around her neck. She stroked the smooth surface, to reassure herself, and strained in the gloom to find Sage. The Bellossom's bright colours were far easier to look for than Flare's black fur. It was stupid, she could have just called out to know they were there, but she needed to _see _them. A glance at the windows didn't help her – the same clouded sky. There never was any sun or moon, not anymore. It was probably early in the morning, around four or three... Thinking about it didn't make it any easier to bear – she couldn't work like this. But she had to. Getting off the bed, she called out, "Flare, Sage, get out of the way." There was the click of claws on the floor, and she cautiously edged over to the fridge, tossing the heavily wrapped packages into the bag by the door. It was always open, since, as this morning proved, she never knew when she'd be leaving. Most of her supplies were in there already.

A few rolls of bandages and some hastily collected leaves, the usual collection of medicines for status effects, and disinfectant... There. Red light briefly illuminated the room as she called back her Pokemon, then opened the door and left. It was nearly as dark outside, and a chilly wind bit through her thin sweater, but she didn't have the time to put on anything warmer. Yet more fumbling for Pokeballs, and as she pulled out the one she wanted, she felt a flash of regret. She might not be able to use this method as transport again, no matter how bone-wrenchingly painful it was.

"Talon." Just his name, as he materialized out of the Pokeball, brown feathers ruffling. She moved forward slowly, awaited his usual trilled greeting, and then ran her hands through the feathers on his neck, checking that the loop of rope there wasn't too tight. Like always, there were no welts, and she sighed in relief. "We've got a long flight, but Redrick's meeting us at the Tohjo Falls. I'll switch there, so you don't have to bear my weight for most of the journey."

A Pidgeotto was hardly the best Pokemon to use if you wanted to go somewhere. Even short distances were painful for both human and Pokemon. Still, she lifted her arm and winced as he lifted off the ground, circled in the air above her and then gripped her shoulder with his strong talons. The next, bone-wrenching movement brought her into the air as he flapped, and she bit her lip. It was hard on both of them, and she always felt guilty for keeping him in this smaller form. If he was larger, he would be a bigger target, though, and she couldn't bear him flying into a swarm like that. Another flap, and she felt her stomach clench. Flying was not the pleasant experience that so many others had, not when the Pokemon wasn't bigger than her...

Closing her eyes didn't make it any better, and through gritted teeth she muttered encouragements to Talon. "Newbark isn't too far... We can make it, and you'll fly easier once we meet Redrick. Just keep going, don't think about how tired you'll get." She kept her eyes on the ground, watching for any movement. All the routes were quiet now, but that wasn't any help. Swarms didn't need to make noise. Not when, on the ground, there were hundreds of Caterpie and Weedle, ready to strangle any target with String Shot.

The path was clearly visible, winding between the trees below. It was dangerous to veer off it, even in the air, though it meant that the way was longer. There wasn't anyone else in the sky. There wasn't anyone on the ground. She was utterly alone, but there was the oppressive atmosphere that had settled on the land since the sky had clouded over, the feeling that she was being watched. A weary squawk made her look around – but she saw nothing, except...

There was a sort of shape, ahead of them, and she could only make it out because of the cloud behind it. Small, with odd... wings that stuck out stiffly to the side. Tala blinked, and it was gone. Probably a trick of the light. Something nagged in the back of her mind. A Pokemon that could be invisible... Well, it was gone now, whatever it was.

At least, when they were flying, there wasn't any sun to get in their eyes. The clouded sky looked eerie, and she had no idea which Pokemon had been to blame for _that_, but it could be convenient. Still, she missed the night sky, and the beautiful sunsets. The path curved around, leading to Newbark Town, which wasn't even a splotch in the distance. She sighed. It was going to be a long flight...

-------------

"_Tell me, are they suffering?"_

"_I think so, sister. No longer can they heal quickly. We have crippled them."_

"_What about that place? Where we were imprisoned?"_

"_It is being destroyed. Don't worry. When this is over, we will sleep by Celebi's monument, and no one will be able to harm us."_

"_...Yes. There. We were released there. Will those three die?"_

"_They must."_

_-------------_

The Tohjo Falls were spectacular, and she had admired them before, but now Tala could only strain to try and spot a hovering orange dot behind all the mist and spray. The crash of water over rock drowned out even Talon's laboured breathing, and she sighed in relief as a bulky form suddenly blasted towards her. With a roar, the orange-scaled dragon circled around them, and then dipped below, great wings beating to keep him in place. Talon just dropped, his claws releasing their grip on Tala's wrist so that she sprawled on the Charizard's back. Carefully sitting up, she clung to the straps that criscrossed his back and shoulders, and used them to pull herself up to sit at the base of his neck. Talon landed behind her, completely secure on the Fire-type's back. She looked around for Redrick... and didn't see him. Great. Had he gotten so lazy that he had decided to only send Drake to meet her?

"I see my ever so charming partner has arrived to dazzle me with her presence. Your scowl, my dear, lights up the sky like so many stars," said a disembodied voice from below. Tala made a face, tightened her grip on the leather harness and slowly leaned over. The spiky red hair was the only clue that someone was hitching a ride, and she stared in disbelief.

"You're... tied up. In flight. _Why?" _she eventually asked, hearing her own voice crack on the last word.

"What, not even a greeting? I'm hurt, Tala. Really. Disregarding my current state of anguish and grief, the reason I'm strapped to Drake's underside is because _you _are heavy-boned, and if we all sat on his back, it'd be harder for him to fly. Besides, we'd get in the way of his flapping." The cheery reply made her frown even more, but she had to pull herself back up before the view of the ground unsettled her stomach too much.

"You're an idiot, Redrick."

"My heart is _breaking_. I'm so sorry that my way of making us fly faster is annoying your sense of aesthetics. Just because it's not comfortable doesn't mean it can't work out. You should know, what with breaking your arm each time you take to the air," he retorted, still far too happily for her taste. "Is your shoulder bruised much? There's a pouch with some cream to soothe it near his right wing." She found it and pulled out the battered tube of cream, squeezing it and rubbing it on her shoulder, which had quite distinctive claw marks and rips in the sweater from Talon's grip. The Pidgeotto in question was calmly perching behind her, feathers ruffled by the wind.

Kanto passed below them, if she cared to look, but she didn't want to throw up, and Drake flew a lot higher and faster than Talon did. Looking down wasn't a good idea, even if she hadn't eaten yet. Still, the constant heat sinking into her skin was comforting, as was the steady thunder of wingbeats. A glance behind her proved that the Charizard's flame burned brightly, which was a good indicator of his bond as well as his level. Apparently, a Charizard betraying its trainer did odd things to the fire, not that she had ever seen it...

"What do you know about what's happened?" Redrick asked, interrupting her thoughts.

"The island towns are doomed, and Celadon's destroyed." she answered flatly, trying to decide between keeping a look-out for any wild Pokemon and avoiding losing her stomach to the sickening drop below them. "That's all, right?" It hurt to be so callous, to speak without being able to think of the lives that had been lost, but to let herself grieve would have just slowed her down.

"That's all for now, yeah. But you know, we can guess which ones will get hit later..."

"Goldenrod. Slateport." She sighed and brushed a hand through her hair as she thought. "Any city with a gym, after that. The Indigo Plateau as well. Redrick, are we really going t –?"

"Don't sound so depressed! Don't forget that everyone is working out a way to stop this. This is as bad as it'll ever get!" Redrick laughed, voice so _cheery _that she felt ashamed. Doubting herself, doubting the abilities of her Pokemon, doubting everyone who was working so hard... "We'll fix whatever's happening. Isn't that right, Drake?" The Charizard growled, and, rather than saying something about how Drake was agreeing with him, her partner swore.

Tala sat up, finally staring down at the ground. There were flickers of movement and colour around the trees, telltale signs that they were being watched from below. "Damn it. I thought we could get to Celdaon without any trouble." Her voice sounded flat to her own ears, but it had to be, because otherwise she would start thinking about what they were preparing to do. To sruvive, she had to close herself off... "Talon?" The Pidgeotto squawked and pushed off of Drake's back, wings effortlessly catching the wind.

The steady wingbeats stopped, and Tala tried to ignore the plummeting feeling in her stomach. Drake was gliding now, so they could hear the signal they were dreading. Talon soared above their heads, and even Redrick had stopped teasing to try and listen.

A hundred pairs of wings flapped as one.

* * *

I'd better do this now... I like finishing off chapters with a single word, or phrase. It makes it seem... snazzy. Usually, if I can do it, I try to fit in a cliffhanger with said phrase. People tell me that I'm sadistic for dropping cliffhangers like crazy, but they're so much _fun_. So. If I overdo it with the cliffhangers, try not to kill me. Otherwise you would never know what happens next...


	3. 2: Black and White

**AN: **Wow, I actually updated! Yeah... I have no excuse. I hated the way I wrote the swarm, so I dawdled and procrastinated, and when I finally got through that, I was left blank except for wanting to slip in manga-verse Lance. Which I did. I felt it wouldn't be easy to understand unless I actually named him in the little unconnected conversation, so yeah. I actually have no idea who is talking to him, though. Bit stupid, on my part. x3 So, now I get to show off my most favourite ordinary Pokemon. Yay! He is badass. :P And there's some underlying stuff that won't be revealed for a long while - longer, given my update time - that starts here. At the very end, to make it a bit easier to identify. Of course, I don't really expect anyone to guess because, at this moment, it only makes sense to my twisted mind.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Pokemon, this is a creative work, blahbitty blahbitty blah. Don't kill me for not updating. D:

Chapter 2: Black and White

It was hard to see everything happening at once. It was why Tala's eyes decided to focus on tiny details, like the rippling movement from the trees as Pokemon burst out of cover. The swarm was just a mass of colour at this point, but the _size _made her tense up. There was that stupid, stupid feeling of doubt again – could they actually do something? What could a few humans do to make a difference against _this?_

The swarm rose and turned towards them, and she could identify the Pokemon now. The usual field and forest-type ones: Beedrill, Butterfree, Pidgey and Spearow. Alone, or in a small group, they wouldn't have been a threat at all, but the swarm was large enough to be lethal. The edges were a blur of movement as the smaller, quicker Pokemon constantly darted around, but they were there to distract and hinder. It was the centre that she had to watch out for: the Pidgeotto, Fearow and Pidgeot were there.

"Tala, are the Butterfree above us?" Redrick asked quietly. She risked a glance above them.

"Shit. Yes, they are. Talon, use Gust. Don't fly, just stay back here. Keep away whatever they drop on us." The graceful Bug-types were drifting sedately on the wind above them. It was an effective strategy: while they were harried by the rest of the swarm, the Butterfree could slowly immobilize them. Drake would be busy keeping them safe and away from the killing beaks and stingers, so Talon had to deal with deflecting the Sleep Powder and Spore that would fall.

"Tala..."

"What?!" she snapped, looking around for anything that would make their situation even worse.

"Hold on." The Charizard suddenly dropped, and she bit back a scream as the ground rushed towards them. Then, he turned, spiralling while streams of flame surrounded them. Tala obediently clung to Drake's neck, feeling the heat of the Flame Wheel beat down at her. She could hear a discordant chorus of shrieks from above as they flew under the swarm before levelling out once more.

The heat faded and she dared to open her eyes. The bulk of the swarm was behind them, and the edge-fliers that were still in range to attack had fallen back because of the fire. The Butterfree couldn't have attacked because the swarm was in the way. After some searching, she found Talon, swooping low to reach them. Drake roared and used Flamethrower, the jet of fire causing more chaos in the group.

Her Pidgeotto was, for the most part, unscathed. She couldn't see any blood on his feathers, and he wasn't flying oddly. However, that could change, as a group of Spearow and Pidgey detached to follow after him. "Redrick, we need to help!"

"No." he answered curtly.

"Talon's going to be attacked! We need to - " She tried to sit up, unsure of what she was going to do, but certain that she _had _to get to her Pokemon, but at that moment, Drake made an abrupt turn, and she had to duck down as a Beedrill's Twinneedle passed over her head.

"Damn it, Tala, we're _not _risking our lives on your Pidgeotto! It's helping him and dying, or going on and hoping he gets out of this alive. You and I are _medics_. You know what that means?" She knew too well, but couldn't say anything, so he continued. "The Pokemon Centers are destroyed. Rubble. Thousands are injured and dying, and we are supposed to get to them and heal as many as possible. Are you going to say that a hundred of the lives you could save at Celadon are thrown away just because you went after your _Pokemon_?"

She opened her mouth, but he went on furiously, "What about the thousand that will die this week, because you went to your death? Or the million, this year? You're _good _at this, and I sure as hell am _not _going to let you kill people because of Talon. Drake, use another Flamethrower and keep going northwest. Tala, are you listening!?"

What could she say to that? "I..." She could imagine him glaring up at her, though she couldn't see him. "You're right. I'm sorry." Tala hated how meek and accepting her voice sounded. Talon was being hurt, and she couldn't do anything...

"Shit. That's not right either. Look, Tala, _never _apologize to me. You're not the type of person to bully into an apology." She could tell he was going to say something else by how he cleared his throat, but a swirl of colour and the flapping of wings made her cling to Drake's neck. The Charizard, not affected by her tight grip, banked to one side and slowed down enough to look over his shoulder and spit a series of Embers. Tala flinched at the intense heat right over her head, but the swarm apparently backed off once more.

"Oi, Drake, let me see." Redrick demanded, disgruntled. "It's not like them to back off like that..." Drake obediently hovered, turning so that Redrick could presumably take a look.

Tala lifted her head. The swarm, in its myriad glory, had turned its back on them. The wild Pokemon were gathering, as if to look at something. Her stomach clenched. What could distract a swarm from the humans it was preying on? Unless the leader was hurt... A vicious scream rang out, and she jumped, startled. "Just what's going on over there?" she asked, voice trembling.

There was a flurry of movement, and a bird Pokemon suddenly charged through the swarm, wings held close to its body. It was a Pidgeotto, but only when she saw the distinctive jagged teartracks did she realize. Talon, feathers spotted by dark blood, was flying back towards them. She could only stare, horrified. Her poor, poor Pokemon was hurt... Tala glanced at the swarm, which was moving sluggishly. None of the Spearow or Pidgey had moved to attack. It as if they were waiting for something.

That "something" screamed as it flew after Talon, and whatever wild hope she had of her Pidgeotto escaping to relative safety vanished. A massive bird churned the air with its wings. Its sweeping crest of bright yellow and red feathers was dissheveled and it too was marked by spots of blood, if not as greatly as Talon. It darted after Talon, and she foolishly sat up, nails digging into her palms. She couldn't do anything – if she shouted, he would be distracted and slow down. The Pidgeot curved a graceful arc in the sky, easily overtaking Talon even though her Pidgeotto was flapping wildly. She felt like she was going to throw up. The swarm wasn't bothering to hurt them, because their leader was preoccupied. Talon was the distraction that was keeping them alive...

Redrick muttered something, and when she strained to hear, she caught a string of quiet orders. Her partner was apparently more worried about Talon's predicament than she had first thought.

"We're going to have to try and reach him, and distract the leader long enough for him to get away," he told her suddenly. Tala gaped.

"I thought you said we couldn't risk our lives to save a Pokemon..."

"We won't be," Redrick said firmly. "They won't be able to see us." He muttered something to Drake, and then announced, so that she could hear, "Smokescreen. Follow that with a Double Team, and find Talon. I'd ask for a Substitute, but that would tire you out too much. If anything gets close, use Roar." The Charizard growled an affirmative, and after a moment, thick, black smoke began to pour from his mouth. Tala quickly covered her mouth and nose, coughing a bit – it was not the most pleasant thing to breathe in. Unfortunately, she had to grip the leather straps quickly, as Drake suddenly surged forward, wings flapping at a speed he hadn't shown before. Looking back, she saw two afterimages flicker into sight, flanking them.

It was a good strategy, raising the chances of their getting to Talon unharmed. Bird Pokemon relied on their eyesight, and with both smoke and two illusions, it was doubtful that they would be able to get close enough to attack. Still, despite the odds, Tala couldn't look at where Talon circled, desperately trying to fight a foe that outmatched him. The squawks and angry buzzing of the swarm didn't seem to distract the two opponents, even as smoke shrouded them both.

"Tala, we're close. Call to him, will you?" Redrick's voice was hoarse, and he coughed afterwards.

"But..." Her objection trailed off as she coughed as well. "Alright. Talon!" The smoke billowed, and with a tired squawk, her faithful Pokemon flew back. He was flagging terribly, and though his claws and beak were stained with blood from the Pidgeot, she knew he was far worse off. She barely felt Drake turn, too busy with running her hands through his feathers and finding out where he was wounded. There were deep gashes on his stomach and near his wings, but the rest were only long, shallow rakes from the Pidgeot's claws. He didn't pull away, though Tala knew that her prodding at them only hurt him more. She rummaged in her bag and pulled out disinfectant and a paste that she had made from her Bellossom's leaves. Midway through applying the paste, Talon suddenly grasped her hand in his beak gently.

She stopped, confused. "Talon, what -" He trilled softly, bumping against her, before shifting so that her hand rested on the rope around his neck. She knew what he wanted. Her eyes prickled with tears. "Alright. Just... don't die, alright? Come back to me." The rope had taken its share of hits through the years, and was worn thin. She pulled on an especially frayed part and it snapped. Somehow, this wasn't the dramatic thing she had thought it would be. Redrick had no idea what was going on, but the smoke was slowly dissipating, and they had no more time.

The clear stone attached to the rope dropped into Tala's hand, glittering as white light enveloped her Pokemon. On shining wings he rose again, invincible in that one small moment of change... And then, with the next flap, his wings stretched out, pale brown feathers mixed with cream. His crest grew long, colours vivid red and yellow. She could still see blood, marring the image, but now he was a match for the leader of the swarm who flew out to meet him. They circled in the air, and for a moment she hoped – somehow – that the conflict would end. Of course, it didn't. A furious screech rang out and Talon lunged forward, talons outstretched. She turned away, not wanting to look. The swarm, distracted, hovered in the air around the fighters. For now, she and Redrick were safe.

"Eugh, the smoke's clearing," Redrick said in disgust. "It's too windy to last long anyways." He paused. "Tala... We were getting Talon. Can you explain to me why _he_, fully-evolved, is in the air again? You couldn't just put him in a Pokeball and let us be on our way?"

She flushed in embarassment. "He... he didn't want me to just heal him." she explained. "The swarm would have caught up with us again, so he decided to kill the leader. You know that swarms lose their effectiveness if the Pokemon holding them together is killed..." Her voice trailed off. She rubbed the Everstone, keeping her eyes on it rather than on the fight occuring not far away.

"Oh yes, I _forgot_. You let your Pokemon push you around," he retorted, exasperation in his voice. "You'll have to tell me how that works out one day." She stayed silent, knowing anything else would aggravate him. "You'd think I'd have gotten used to this crap by now. Alright, let's keep hovering, in _open air_, in plain sight, and hope none of the swarm turn around and notice we're still here."

Tala couldn't help looking back. It was hard to tell which Pokemon was winning – Talon could have been the wild Pidgeot's brother – and though her stomach roiled and she found her hands clenching into fists again, she couldn't look away. Their lives, at the moment, depended on Talon. It would have been smart, logical even, to leave while the swarm was distracted. To fly off, leave her Pidgeot to fight until he died. It would have been the sensible thing to do. If she hadn't been with him, Redrick might even have let it happen. She knew that.

Sentiment, the bonds of close relationships... The change in the Pokemon had cut all that away. Only a few individuals didn't have to worry about their Pokemon eventually going wild and attacking anything nearby. Talon would eventually turn on her. A part of her knew that. She couldn't believe it, though, not after what they had been through together. It was why, instead of flying away, she was watching her Pokemon fight against the leader of the swarm, regardless of all the strain of flying this far and carrying her.

Talon, she saw, was hurt badly now, his wings straining to support him. Evolution gave a burst of energy, but that energy was drained quickly, especially considering all the bleeding cuts he sported from the other Pidgeot's talons. He was no longer trying to dodge or circle, and was now just backwinging as the other Pidgeot approached. Just as the other struck at him with his talons again, his wings furled and he dropped, beak raking at the other's chest.

The other Pidgeot cried out, bleeding heavily, and began to fall too. Tala knew she should have been watching the swarm, to see if the unified Pokemon were still being controlled, but she couldn't tear her gaze away from Talon, who had taken so many hits and was, though no longer falling, barely keeping up in the air. Drake swung away from the swarm as chaos erupted – Beedrills and Spearow rammed into each other, flocks of Pidgey began to squabble and fracture, and the Butterfree began to sprinkle powder at random.

Talon had no more strength to avoid the Pokemon who were darting around, and barely managed to reach them. Redrick kept quiet as Drake began to head towards Celadon again, while she fussed over her Pidgeot's wounds. He was too tired to even bother snapping at her when she prodded at the more painful ones, and she used up a good amount of ointment cleaning and salving all the cuts. Once that was done, he leaned against her, vicious beak touching her shoulder gently, while she stroked his back and praised him. At last, so he could rest, she returned him to his Pokeball, and refused to talk when Redrick tried to coax her into a conversation. It was a long flight.

----------

"_What are you looking at?"_

"_Isn't this what you wanted, in the end?"_

"_No... not really. Not all humans had to die. Just those who weren't worthy."_

"_And Pokemon wouldn't die either, or go through this torture, right?"_

"_Yes, that's it."_

"_It's almost the same, from my way of thinking. Oh well. At least you'll never have to worry about your Pokemon turning on you, eh, Lance?"_

"_Shut up."_

----------

Nemian looked no better at Celadon than he had when he had contacted her. His blond hair was still messy, and he was leaning on a Kangaskhan so heavily that Tala guessed he would have fallen over otherwise. There was a space for Drake to land, which he did carefully – one of his legs had acquired a nasty stab from a Beedrill's sting, and Redrick had trouble treating it until he was on the ground. Tala slid off with some relief.

"Did you run into a swarm?" Nemian asked, without waiting for Redrick to unhook himself from the Charizard's harness.

"How ever did you guess?" her partner retorted, voice muffled as he fumbled with the leather straps. Once he was free from the harness, he dropped to the ground and strolled over. "You look terrible, Nem. Get some rest," he advised, running a hand through his spiky red hair. "Surely you have enough people running around to manage for a few hours?"

Nemian made a face. "Stop calling me that. The problem is that I _don't_. We've been spread thinner than ever before. The Elite Four of every region are rushing around to ensure people are getting where they need to. Orre's been opened up for travel, and we have to make sure the people going there will get there alive... What if, while I'm sleeping, another place gets attacked?" Redrick laughed, but Tala thought it sounded forced – a lot of his cheeriness seemed to fall into that category these days.

"You're a medic, Nem –"

"_Stop calling me that._"

"And you're not responsible for the safety of everything and everyone." Redrick continued, not fazed by the interruption. Drake, in the meantime, had decided to prop his head on Redrick's shoulder, making him sag from the weight. "In fact, we're not security guards or border patrols last time I checked. We're medics. We're supposed to heal, and that's it. The portable, messy, living version of Pokemon Centers. It's the Elite Four and the gymleaders who get the fun of keeping everything running. Would you put the duty of worrying about this on me, or Tala, or any of the others?" He didn't bother to wait for an answer. "No? Well then, stop putting it on yourself. You're already exhausted. Don't be so stubborn, or I'll tell Tala to sic her Pokemon on you." Then, to the Charizard, he muttered, "Drake, get _off. _You're too heavy for this..."

Tala didn't bother protesting about being dragged into the mess to threaten her boss. Redrick enjoyed involving anyone nearby in conversations, regardless of if it concerned them or not.

"I give up." Nemian said wearily. "I'm too tired to bother debating with you. Look, just find your tents and get to work. You don't need to worry about your Pokemon – we've got some Psychics and Sabrina projecting a mix of Calm Mind and Protect on the area. Nothing's going to go rogue on us right now." He leaned harder on the Kangashkan, which began to shoot glares at Redrick and Tala as if it was their fault that he was working so hard. Tala wisely nodded and left before Redrick decided to be too outrageous.

She had been on the sites of disasters before. Where Drake had landed had actually been outside of Celadon. All the medics had their temporary quarters grouped to one side, not too far from where all the casualties were. That was where she headed now – there'd be a tent reserved for her, if Nemian's organizing hadn't gone awry. There weren't all too many people about – she spotted the Psychic trainers and their Pokemon seated together, and she cautiously skirted around them. A young, dark-haired boy, maybe twelve or so, was hanging around one of the tents. For a moment, she thought his eyes looked oddly blank, but then decided that it was her imagination as he straightened and ran up to her.

"Um... you're Tala, right?My name's Aaron Cross, and I'm supposed to be your assistant! This is your tent, and I can make sure your stuff gets taken here once the couriers are available." He looked happy to continue babbling, but she held up a hand in an attempt to cut him off.

"...Aaron? Since when do I have an assistant? I never needed one before." she pointed out. He smiled at her charmingly.

"We didn't have so many injured before. I'm still supposed to be in training, but all us trainees were kicked out to help you and get hands on experience if we don't die." he answered, his cheerful attitude clashing strongly with the severity of the situation. With a sinking feeling that she was going to be trailing him all day, Tala sighed and entered the tent, throwing her bag on the ground. She sorted out medicine from food, pressganged Aaron to hold all her important supplies and then walked back out.

"I'm going to release my Pokemon." she told him. "You need to stand back and look harmless. You can release yours later for me to look over them, but for now, just stay put and don't move." Her Pokemon emerged – Sage, the red flowers on her head twirling; Flare, who stretched, lashed his thin tail and growled at Aaron; Shard, the rings on his body glowing a bright yellow. Talon was too injured for her to send him out, and he was too combat-focused to be useful. Another flash of light revealed Rai, the Mareep shaking and discharging sparks hidden in his thick wool.

Aaron, who had obediently stayed clear, raised an eyebrow at the Houndoom who was currently staring at him suspiciously. "Didn't you have six?" he asked.

"One's injured." she replied shortly, reaching for the Pokeball that hung around her neck. Red light illuminated a tall, spiky form as a massive Feraligatr stretched and roared, tail lashing. She smiled as he lumbered over to stand beside her, head dropping to rest against hers. She reached up to scratch his snout gently. "Hey, Torrent. More stuff has happened. It's time to go," she told him fondly, feeling him rumble his assent. Yellow eyes focusing on Aaron, who had backed away even more, the Feraligatr bared his fangs in a silent threat, which Tala decided to ignore. He had acted worse to humans who were standing too close – Aaron was out of striking range. He was safe for the moment. "So, my new assistant, this is Torrent. All of my Pokemon are a bit odd in temperament, but I'd say that you keep out of his way the most. He's jealous." Another growl followed her statement and she laughed. "Just remember that and we'll be fine. Come on."

The idea of someone following her around made her _want _to let Torrent intimidate him, but that wasn't fair. As long as Aaron didn't get in her way... Surrounded by her Pokemon and gripping one of the red spikes that sprouted from Torrent's back, she went out to challenge death.


	4. 3: Insulation

**AN: **So, hi everyone. I'm back. I was doing Nanowrimo so I was sort of busy and couldn't spare the muse or time for this. 3 I'm glad I managed to win Nano, though the story itself isn't finished. Anyways, here we are, chapter 3. Not really a filler, but I'm not too pleased with it - I'm still recovering from my previous writing effort, and my head had the most brilliant idea to get hooked on another fanfic idea while I'm still cranking out Dark Hurricane and this little effort. x3 So if you notice a drop in quality, it's because I was distracted and scatterbrained lately. Though I do admit having a whole ton of ideas in the works, including reworking an AU Pokemon fic based off of a dream I had, and set far in the future after LR, as well as a dark little story about a Dratini that's lured to the dark side by a voice in her head. The latter's based off of a roleplay, and I actually liked it, so I'll kick myself into writing it out once LR is complete. Um... yeah, I'm so tired of staring at this chapter that I barely know what's going on in it, and I didn't hint at sub-plots at _all_. And it doesn't even end with a proper cliffhanger. Terrible, isn't it?

**Disclaimer: **Don't own Pokemon, individual character concepts belong to me~

Chapter Three - Insulation

The injured were out in the open air – open meaning the sky was visible, but everything was distorted by a glimmering shield of green. That was the Protect that the Psychic trainers and their Pokemon had put up, and Tala was relieved to have it there. She could hear Aaron walking behind her, his attempts at conversation somewhat hampered by the fact that Torrent and Flare flanked her, and weren't acting all that friendly towards him.

Still, she needed the distraction of his presence, really. Otherwise, she'd focus too much on the groaning and cries of pain that she could hear. She had to ignore that, ignore all the injured until she found out which ones she had to take care of. "Hey, Aaron."

"Yes? What can I do?" he asked, and managed to step around her escorts to face her. She had to admire his lack of fear – Torrent was imposing, given his size and just how quick he was when he decided to bite someone. Even she had been frightened when he had first evolved... She ignored the chance to sink into fond – or not so fond – memories.

"Get the list of areas where I need to go, and come back. Quickly." she ordered, feeling a prickle of unease. The area had long since been divided into sections, and then organized by alphabet. It ended at F, because medics had a grim sense of humour and couldn't avoid the fact that those barely clinging to life would always, always end up there. The worst of the injured. The recipients of near-fatal blows and those whose minds had been shattered by Psychic attacks, those who had been possessed or cursed by Ghosts... The almost hopeless ones. Only the best were constantly delegated there, and the utter newbies who needed a harsh wake up call before they started on their own assigned patients.

Aaron, despite being extremely cheerful for someone on the scene of a disaster, was also efficient – not only did he return with the list, and without taking too long, but he was followed by another medic. A dark-skinned woman with long black hair swept after him, a Weezing hovering beside her and belching small amounts of noxious fumes. As soon as she reached Tala, she crossed her arms and looked down her impressive and hawk-like nose at Aaron. "Youdidn't tell me you're working with _Tala_." she said accusingly.

Aaron blinked. "Does working with her make a difference?" he asked cautiously, grey eyes bright and a neutral expression on his face. Tala sighed and shoved Torrent slightly. He shifted enough for her to swipe the list from Aaron's hand, and, ignoring his protest, started to walk off. Section E... That wasn't half as bad as F, as she knew well enough. Status Effects were common, but she could take care of most of them, thankfully. She could hear Aaron talking behind her, but she tried to focus enough on the list, which named not only her but the other medics. Nemian was assigned to F. Redrick, as usual, was also assigned to section F. There wasn't much change in the lists from place to place – unless there were too few people to handle a certain section, no one was ever moved. For example, she had a varied team, and with a Grass-type that could produce undiluted cures for a number of conditions, she had been shoved into the E section on her second day out of training.

There was a warning growl from Torrent as Aaron entered her line of sight once more, jogging to keep up. "Yes?" she asked, not slowing down.

"Um... Tala, Senica said that I should fetch another medic to work with us," he replied, looking a bit nervous.

"And?"

"Well, I was assigned to help you, so I can't really take any order unless you approve of it," he explained carefully.

"Oh. No, don't get another. We'll be fine," she answered curtly. Aaron didn't look convinced, and was shooting desperate looks over his shoulder. Tala turned to look at who was following – but there was no need, as Senica stalked over.

"If I'm stuck with you, we _need _someone else," she informed them both. "I can't drag you back by myself, and my Pokemon would just hurt you trying to carry you back." Tala stared back stubbornly, noticing that the other medic's brow was furrowed.

"Drag? What?" Aaron looked understandably confused – apparently news about the peculiarities of some of the medics hadn't reached the trainees yet.

Senica frowned at him, and then turned back to Tala, keeping a wary eye on Torrent who was looking at her gesturing arms, gauging distance. Tala didn't bother trying to stop him. It was tiring to try and dissuade her Pokemon. They were always aggressive, always on edge, always ready to protect her from... _anything_. It had taken weeks to impress upon them the importance of not slaughtering Redrick when he raised his voice.

"Who would you be willing to work with?" Senica asked her, a faint plea in her voice. Tala grimaced. She couldn't make a scene in front of Aaron – he had no idea what he was dealing with, but his ignorance could be preserved a while longer.

"Get Redrick, later – when he has a break. He'll be thankful for the distraction," she answered finally. Senica sighed, with some relief, which was annoying – was she really _that _hard to deal with? Surely Nemian worked harder than she did! Tala frowned at her, only to find the dark-skinned medic frowning right back, staring down her nose and reminding her all too much of a sun-darkened Pidgeot. Or maybe a Staraptor.

"I'll do that, then. Let's go," Senica said, breaking off the contest and edging away from Torrent, who was trying to subtly move closer to her. The blue alligator Pokemon wasn't good at being sneaky, at least, and his intentions were clear, fangs showing in a display meant to frighten and intimidate. "I don't understand... He acts like a Meowth you've raised from an egg, but whenever anyone else gets too close, he tries to rip their heads off." Torrent growled softly and the medic turned to address him directly. "Yes you, you zealous lizard. I haven't come here to assassinate your trainer or anything, and I'd like to keep my arms." The Feraligatr glared daggers at her and she sighed again. "Starters are supposed to be nice and _friendly,_" she murmured. The Weezing beside her belched out a cloud of fumes, but Tala didn't bother to do anything beyond wrinkling her nose – the Poison-type knew not to accidentally release clouds of truly poisonous gas. No, it was saving that for when it would be needed to mix up antidotes.

Aaron looked quite confused, and Senica turned and clapped him on the shoulder. "Don't worry, you'll probably figure it all out soon," she told him. "Or go insane with the rest of us. Granted, we have good reasons to need padded rooms." Aaron didn't look all too pleased at this prospect, but he followed them both willingly enough as Senica led the way to their patients. There weren't many tents here, but it was a nice day, and only those who had been Frozen were kept under the canvas roofs, where the heat trapped there was useful. Aaron made a quiet sound of sympathy at the sight of so many beds, so many humans and Pokemon laid out, some corpse-like in their stillness.

"Yes, it's not a pleasant sight," Tala said grimly, feeling the usual determination. She _would _save them – no matter what state they were in, she _would _save each and every being here, human or Pokemon. Who they started on was the medics' own choice, so she picked out a pale and sweating girl that looked barely older than ten. Several small wounds, roughly circular, dotted her arms and neck. She struggled to move, murmured something, and then stopped, groaning.

"Is that... is that poison?" Aaron asked carefully. Tala answered, since Senica was looking at the wounds carefully.

"Yes, it is. Problem is, we don't have Antidotes to cure all types of poisoning now, so we need to guess at what Pokemon caused it, and then create the proper antidote ourselves. That's why Senica's here." Senica grunted in agreement, peering at the wounds.

"These aren't caused by fangs – they don't match. So that takes out a good deal of Pokemon. Probably a horn, or a spike. This girl looks young, so she probably didn't get far if she was on a journey, and there are plenty of weak Pokemon near towns that could do this. It could be the Beedrill line, or maybe the Nidoran..." She turned to the Weezing. "Make some of a Weedle's venom, then get the antivenom and let her breathe it in," she commanded, crossing her arms as the purple ball of gas wheezed. It was hard to tell that it was actually doing anything, except for the fact that its regular little puffs of noxious gas had disappeared entirely, pulled inside so it could create the required venom.

The process took little time, but Tala and Senica watched the Weezing with anxious eyes, while Aaron tried to tend to the comfort of their patient. He was good at that – wiping her forehead with a cool cloth, speaking soothing words, making sure she wasn't directly in the sunlight. When Senica's Pokemon was finally done, it floated over to the girl and let out a fine mist, completely unlike the usual gas – it settled on her gently, and she breathed it in. Tala turned away. "Senica's alright with this – we need to worry about the others. Come on."

Her own first patient was a Ninetales that had been paralyzed. It couldn't move, its limbs stiff and tails splayed out. Tala, with permission, took a few of the leaves from Sage's skirt and carefully tore them up, before putting them in the Fire-type's mouth. The fox chewed reflexively, and while it did so, Tala turned her attention to its stiffened legs.

"Rai, help me with this." The Mareep trotted up, creamy wool crackling with electricity. He bleated as she slowly tried to work the Pokemon's legs. It snarled and she quickly let go as its body heat rose. "That must hurt so it's... severe paralysis. Rai, send weak pulses to the muscles. Sage, enhance the leaves it ate." She was commanding them out loud for Aaron's benefit – sometimes she thought her Pokemon knew what the problem was and what to do with it before she did. Rai moved until his muzzle brushed the Ninetales' fur, and tiny sparks jumped from his wool to the fox's legs. It jerked, but Sage acted at that moment, a green halo surrounding her briefly before flickering out – and then appearing around the Fire-type. Just as she could call certain types of powers from Berries, she could do the same from her leaves, and now she was enhancing the leaves to heal paralysis.

The Ninetales gradually relaxed, the rigidness of its body fading into something more natural. It wasn't as instantaneous as being healed with a Parlyz Heal, but it took about the same time as eating a Cheri Berry, with the same sort of effects. Rai drew back and cut off the weak jolts he had been sending to the fox Pokemon's muscles, and bleated again.

"That was fast. And not that hard..." Aaron remarked, his tone suddenly a great deal more respectful. The Ninetales lifted its head, looked at them and then got to its feet and leaped gracefully to the ground. Rather than leaving, it whined and flattened its ears, taking a few steps and then looking back at them. Torrent leaned forward and growled, but it lacked the threatening tone that Tala was so used to hearing.

"I think it wants us to follow. Its trainer or teammates might be here." she observed, already following it. Over her shoulder, she told him, "That was easy – probably only a strong Thunder Wave. Almost too easy... anyone could have taken care of that." She wasn't sure if her eyes were deluding her, but for some reason his grey eyes looked unfocused, as if he wasn't looking at anything at all. The moment passed, and he smiled at her.

"But everyone says you're one of the talented medics. Nothing can go wrong," Aaron said confidently, and Tala wished he could share that confidence with her. Running a hand through her short brown hair, she wished she could trust the creamy-furred Fire-type in front of her. Once, she would have happily trusted any Pokemon she met, would have been confident that they wouldn't hurt her on purpose... And now she was suspicious of almost all of them. It hurt, to think about the possibilities, to fear what had once been so normal.

The Ninetales stopped beside a human, about her age, with short hair and a strained expression on his face. Someone had strapped him down – there were red marks on his arms where the straps chafed. As she watched, he suddenly thrashed, as if trying to get away from an invisible enemy. Tala felt her insides clench with worry.

"I see..."

"He's confused." Aaron offered tentatively, and she nodded. "But I thought... that you could snap out of that?" His eyes were on her, nervous and concerned and fearful, and she had to remind herself that she was the senior medic, and he was trusting her to know what to do.

She sighed, feeling the bitter taste of knowledge and experience. "Pokemon can use their moves on each other, because they've long since adapted to status effects and the types of things that would kill humans. Humans _aren't _used to that. Even an Ember, something so weak a Pokemon could shrug it off, would hurt a human badly. And status effects... those are serious, especially the ones like confusion or curses. Those aren't easy to heal on Pokemon, let alone humans."

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, before opening them again. The Ninetales was looking at her, dark eyes wide and understanding and sorrowful, as if the Fire-type had read her mind. Then, it licked its trainer's hand, and then looked back at Tala. Her breath hissed out as guilt squeezed at her. "Alright." she said aloud. "Alright, I'll do it. I'll try."


	5. 4: Funeral

**AN: **Been a while, huh? I figured out what was wrong with the last chapter: no cryptic conversation! :D There is a plot relevant one in this chapter and it managed to sprawl into something longer than what I planned for. My sub-plot is starting to kick in, though I doubt anyone will figure it out until it is far too late. :P Muahahaha~ It'd be awesome if I could get a review or two. 3

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Pokemon.

Chapter Four – Funeral

The boy struggled again as they watched, crying out and thrashing around. Tala couldn't look away – he was her age, this could have been her if she hadn't been more careful – and she jumped when Aaron touched her arm, whirling around. "What is it?!" she snapped, ignoring his shock. His forehead was furrowed and he was frowning, looking more at the confused trainer than at her.

"Um... what do we do?" he asked carefully. "You've dealt with this before, right?" If he was seeking reassurance, she didn't give it to him.

"We need a Psychic-type. Those can mess with minds and cure something like this easily. Problem is... we don't _have _a Psychic-type. Or a Ghost Pokemon for that matter – they can screw with your head as well, and probably cure what they like causing... Shard's no good for this. Maybe I could find someone with an Alakazam or something like that once Sage calms him down..." Wait. An idea struck her, and she wondered why she hadn't thought of it before. Was she so addled, so stressed out that she had completely missed the usual order of things? While Aaron was just a trainee, here to watch and learn from her, surely he had thought of it... Staring at him, she watched him shift nervously.

"What's wrong?"

"Aaron, tell me one thing... You're training to be a Pokemon medic, right?" The boy nodded. "You know whatever rudimentary stuff you learned to take care of wounds isn't going to work, right?" Another nod. "Then _why haven't you taken out your Pokemon?_" she hissed. She wasn't sure what she expected of him, what she thought was the reason, but thankfully the dark thoughts she had been harbouring weren't close to the truth. Aaron flushed and looked down.

"I... I forgot. Sorry." he mumbled to the ground. It was good that he wasn't looking at her, because he didn't see Tala punch him in the stomach. Not hard enough to do anything beyond make him double over and gasp for a few seconds, but it got his attention. She kept a careful eye on Torrent, in case he decided to sidle over and accidentally bite Aaron's hand off. Once Aaron was straightening, looking bewildered and eyes watering, she took a step back, shooting a dark look at her starter to make sure he knew she was watching him. That made the Feraligatr settle back down, golden eyes half-closed as if he hadn't been planning anything at all. With that done, she turned back to her trainee.

"Don't fucking do that again." she told him, voice rising. "Don't do that! Don't _forget_. You can't. There's nothing worse that you can do right now than slip up. Your Pokemon can fucking help you, that's what they're there for. To keep you from slipping up. Because you _can't_. No mistakes. Ever. Mistakes cost lives." He was looking at her, confused and shocked, and she almost growled in frustration. It wasn't that difficult to understand. A mistake could kill someone. Forgetting to do something, messing up, could kill more than one person. Being too slow could kill hundreds... The answer to that solution was to be perfect, to never mess up, never make a mistake. Tala knew, in a detached way, that it was impossible, but that didn't stop her from trying.

"Alright," he said meekly. "I won't forget again." Tala would have kept glaring at him but a warm muzzle nudged her hand, and she looked down to see the Ninetales staring at her.

"Yeah, I know..." Another anguished cry from the trainer made her wince. She had more important things to do than berate Aaron. "Alright, fine, just don't do it again. What Pokemon do you have?" He still looked down, a hand drifting to his stomach. She snorted – she hadn't hit him _that _hard. He reached for a Pokeball on his belt and released it, the red light taking on a tall shape. Tala raised an eyebrow as the Pokemon tensed, holding up the blades on its arms as if expecting an attack. That only made Torrent growl warningly, with her Houndoom's deep rumble only a beat behind. She flapped a hand in her team's general direction, hating the long moment where they didn't comply before both fell silent.

"A Psychic-type, just when we need one... convenient. Next time, tell me when one of your Pokemon might be able to help. We wouldn't have wasted any fucking time." He flinched as she turned her gaze towards the Gallade who was staring at her, eyes flat, betraying nothing. She groaned inwardly. She hated dealing with Psychics...

_And why is that? _She jumped at the dry voice in her head, even though she had been half-expecting it.

Tala glowered. "Because you _always _do that. All of you. Without any warning." she hissed, but already her irritation was switching targets – she was just arguing when she could be saving the nameless trainer's life...

_I am sorry,_ the Gallade said gravely, barely having to look up at her. He relaxed, arms at his sides and the threatening blades extending from them not pointed at anything in particular. There was a moment of silence while Aaron looked away, probably hoping she wouldn't yell at him again. _What would you have me do?_

That brought her up short for a moment – the Psychic Pokemon she usually encountered were often snobbish about the extent of their knowledge, and she tended to just try and focus on someone else while they did... whatever it was that they did. _She_ didn't know. "Um... You know how to confuse someone, right?" That earned her a hard look and a nod, and she grimaced right back. "I thought you already knew."

_My partner is inexperienced. You are his mentor. Guide me. _Tala blinked at his solemn tone, and then shrugged. There were more important things to worry about – wondering why a Psychic was being polite could wait until she was half-asleep.

"I'm no expert on it, but from what I've been told... you take whatever you messed up to confuse someone, and you reverse it. I guess..." It seemed pretty simple, now that she thought of it – simple until she considered what could possibly have been done to make someone struggle and hurt themselves. The Gallade nodded as if that explained everything and stepped forward, red eyes closing to concentrate. "Quiet one, isn't he?" she muttered to Aaron, who had an odd look on his face. He was probably feeling sick... though she _really _hadn't hit him that hard. He was just a wimp.

"_Humans really are helpless."_

"_Not really. Humans have guns, the ability to prod and cut things until they reveal the answers they want."_

"_...I guess you would know."_

"_What do you think of your mission?"_

"_Your choice is... different than what I thought I'd be facing."_

"_This needs to happen. They need to be convinced that what they are doing is wrong."_

"_With just one...?"_

"_It will be enough."_

"_...This is all going to plan, of course. Everything that I've reported..."_

"_Of course."_

Somehow, everything had gone smoothly. The Gallade – Aaron had shrugged when she asked if he had a nickname – was more than capable with dealing with confusion. All it had taken was two minutes of watching the Psychic-type stand there and suddenly the trainer had relaxed, going completely limp. To tell the truth, it furstrated her. Sometimes, it seemed like the Pokemon could do most, if not all of the work, and that the humans just got in the way. Maybe that was just the impression she got from dealing with her own Pokemon, who had gone through this so many times that they knew what to do by heart, but still... were humans really all that neccessary? Tala didn't voice that thought, not that she expected Aaron to give her a thoughtful answer. At least that infernal cheeriness had been pricked like a bubble, which meant she could think without being bothered.

Maybe she was being ungrateful, but there was something about Aaron that _bothered _her. A quality that she couldn't place that made her want to bash his head against a wall. It wasn't really his cheerful mood, or the apparent thoughtlessness he had just exhibited, but it was _there_, as annoying as if he had been smug or arrogant.

Something brushed against her hand, and she looked down, mystified, only to find Rai carefully nudging her palm. She had never gotten into trimming the Mareep's wool, and thus it sparked constantly – she had to be very, very careful about touching him. Scratching his muzzle, she looked over at Aaron, who was gazing at nothing in particular, with his Gallade standing nearby and doing... the exact same thing.

Which was just _great._

"Hey!" she called out sharply, clapping her hands as loudly as she could manage. That got its intended effect: Aaron jumped, and the Gallade blinked before turning reproachful red eyes on her.

_That was not neccessary_.

"It was," she retorted, glowering. "Don't we have something to _do?"_ Torrent chose this time to swagger beside her, tail curling around her legs as he glared at both assistant and Pokemon. His golden eyes held no tolerance whatsoever, and though the Psychic-type didn't look fazed at all by the many-fanged threat, Aaron winced after a brief moment.

"Sorry," he responded, not sounding very sorry at all. Still, Tala decided to settle for it, resting a hand on Torrent's shoulder to let him know his help was no longer needed. Snorting, the Feraligatr moved to inspect the patient now simply sleeping, ignoring the boy's Ninetales as if the canine was no more than a fly. Tala might have once found the scene funny – Torrent chose what to take offense at very carefully, and ignored everything else blissfully – but now she saw it as a delay.

"Come on."

The sight of those she had to tend to, so many still and pale bodies laid out in neat rows and columns and _numbers _as if they were already dead, always made her feel sick. That feeling didn't fade now, and she didn't pay all that much attention to Torrent's immediate absence. He usually trailed her, but if he wanted to take a look at something, or avoid Aaron, she could certainly understand that. There were some patients she avoided on sight. The sweating, fevered ones, always too pale and limp, were poisoned, and she didn't have anything to do with those. Of course, those that were visibly tended to had no need of her, but she had to check over a great deal of them just in case. They had long since run out of ways to mark who was healing and who was still in need of help. Supplies were always far less than the demand, and the casualties only grew.

There were no simple wounds here. Burns and paralysis were the easiest to treat, and even that was only relative. Poisons were varied in duration and intensity. Sleep was the impossible 'standard' status effect. A Pokemon could wake up in a few minutes, but a human... a human slept deeply, just slept, but none of the patients they had that had been affected had shown any signs of stirring. She thought they might sleep until they died. Beyond the standard ones were those like attraction and confusion. The former was not really a problem – it didn't affect humans except to lure them in and occasionally make them momentarily stupid about how cute a Pokemon was. It caused deaths, but never anything that ended up here.

She stopped at someone who had been badly burned. There were no Pokeballs or anxious Pokemon waiting beside her – it could have been someone who didn't have any Pokemon, or maybe they were just all dead. Aaron was still trailing anxiously behind her, and she rounded on him suddenly.

"You know how to heal these?" she demanded sharply.

"Uh – yes, I do."

"Good, deal with the smaller ones." Raising her head from examining the burns, she called, "Torrent! Get over here!" There was no rumbling growl of assent, but she saw the Feraligatr turn from whatever he was looking at and lumber towards her. She laid a hand on his blunt snout, rubbing it affectionately while she talked. "The _nice _thing about burns is that a lot of the time, they're from inexperienced Pokemon that burn themselves as well as their trainers. But an agitated, trained Fire-type can do a lot more damage... and we don't have much we can do except soothe the pain." She looked over at Aaron, who _looked _like he was listening intently, eyes wide and nodding occasionally. "What do we use for burns?" she prodded.

"An ointment, made up of Rawst and Oran or Sitrus Berries," he answered, grey eyes serious. "But we're running out, aren't we?"

Tala sighed, glancing up at the sky. Over the disaster area, it was clear, the Psychic shield making it look rather greenish rather than clear blue. Looking over in any direction made it clear how fragile that little patch of blue sky was – heavy, grey clouds surrounded it. There was no end to them. There never was. "We need sun. And rain. And we don't have either." It almost seemed like the world was dying... "Even back when we had them, Berries were expensive. They don't grow here, we had to get them shipped or waste a lot of money on trying to grow a tiny patch from seeds." Bending over the nameless girl, she motioned to Torrent, who paused, jaws opening. The temperature dropped for a moment as frost formed on his fangs, and then he breathed out a fine, cold mist onto the injuries. Aaron watched carefully, and when the Feraligatr had stepped back, he approached and knelt, spreading the greenish ointment onto the smaller burns.

"What about Apricorns?" he asked cautiously, not looking up. Tala snorted.

"What _about _Apricorns?"

"Well, they grow here. Maybe the juice or pulp could be useful for healing. Pokemon eat them, right?"

That made her pause. "Apricorns..." she repeated, feeling cross. Why hadn't she thought of that? "I'll go tell Nemian once we're done for today. I'll even say that it was your suggestion."

That only got a nod from him, and, sighing – she seemed to do too much of that – she turned her attention to their patient.

There was no way to know how much time passed, both of them bent with aching backs and stiff legs – when she looked up, the sun was a distorted gleam, already sinking behind the clouds. She made to get up when the girl they had been healing suddenly moved, her hand closing on Tala's wrist. Torrent started forward, but she motioned him back with her free hand, stomach churning. "Yes?" she said, voice soft, trying to be soothing. "What is it?"

The girl's blue eyes were glazed, but they stared through her. The grip on her wrist tightened, though she still could have freed her arm with ease. "Please..." Her voice rasped, low and urgent. "My Flareon... he's alright, isn't he?" Tala flinched, eyes stinging. "I raised him... raised him, since he was a baby. We were going to beat Erica..." A pause as she breathed in, her arm trembling. "Where is he?" Tala couldn't meet her eyes, hating herself for what she was about to do.

"You were badly burned and unconscious," she recited, looking down and prying open the other's hand, getting her to let go. "You had some minor wounds besides the burns, mostly scratches. You were found in Celadon." She choked out the last, most important word: "Alone." She couldn't continue, couldn't say to her face that the Flareon had attacked her and was dead or running wild himself. Standing up, she pulled free and turned away, moving to get herself as far away from that confused, accusing gaze as possible.

She walked blindly, not caring where she ended up – she just needed to get away. She was only dimly aware that Aaron followed, and for once, the presence of her Pokemon was no comfort. If she hadn't been in Blackthorn at that moment, if she had continued on that stupid journey to the gyms, she might have wound up just like that girl – injured and alone, her Pokemon as good as dead. Flare moved forward to nuzzle her hand, and Sage chimed a note, both trying to improve her mood. She didn't stop until she felt a hand on her shoulder – when she whirled around, expecting Aaron, she found herself looking at a face that was only slightly more welcome.

"Woah, don't glare like that!" Redrick protested. "I'm not here to pester you or anything. That's _his _job." A wave of his hand indicated Aaron, who was looking caught somewhere between pity and complete confusion. "In fact, I'm not here to talk to you at all." Tala blinked and then tensed up as Redrick leaned forward, a grin spreading across his face. "I'm here to tell your Pokemon that it is, in fact, lunch time and I thought they might want to rest." Still grinning triumphantly, he passed a hand through his red hair and then turned away, flapping a hand at Aaron. "You can rest for a bit as well."

"But... all those people..." Aaron protested, grey eyes serious. Redrick managed to lose the smile for a moment, nodding.

"I know, there are a lot that we couldn't help. But we need to eat, and sleep, and all that. Being a medic doesn't mean you stop being mortal." Tala had the feeling he was directing that comment to her as much as to Aaron, and was about to point it out when something heavy settled on her shoulder. Torrent grumbled loudly, apparently ignoring that he was pushing her down, even if only by a little. Knowing she had been tricked, Tala sighed.

"Redrick..."

"Don't say anything, my beloved banshee," he drawled, grinning at Aaron, who still looked confused. "I know that I can get them all on my side in this case. _You _need to eat. And they are hungry, and they know you are too, and I can always _suggest _that your delightful bruisers of Pokemon can just stuff food down your throat. So, I think I've won, right?"

She glared. "And what was all that garbage about doing my duty and saving thousands that you spouted on the way here, huh? Should I just do what I'm supposed to when I feel like it?!" Torrent shifted, rough snout nuzzling the back of her neck for a moment comfortingly. The rest of her Pokemon were just watching silently – it was almost eerie. Aaron coughed.

"Um, I _am _hungry, so if you don't want to eat right now we could get you something for later..." He faltered as Redrick snorted, the sound scornful.

"Don't bother, she'll ignore it. Listen, Tala –" His gaze softened, though her retort hadn't fazed him at all. "You're right, we do what we have to... But doing what you have to means you have to take care of yourself so you don't slow yourself down later. I don't want to have to wake you up if you pass out over someone." His sudden laugh invited her to take part, to joke about that little disaster that had happened back in the beginning of their work, when they had still been hopeful that whatever was happening would end quickly. Grimacing, she moved away from Torrent.

"Fine, whatever. Let's just stop wasting time." The smile that bloomed across her partner's face almost made her feel guilty for forcing him to worry about her. He clapped her on the shoulder.

"There we go! Now let's fill our stomachs, and I know a nice diversion while we're eating as well... It'll make everyone feel better." His green eyes sparkled with that pronouncement. Satsfied with his victory and confident that she would follow, Redrick dashed ahead. She followed at a slower pace, fidgeting. She could _stay_, she needed to help all those people. Aaron hesitated before falling into step beside her, managing to ignore Flare and Torrent flanking him.

"Uh, are you alright?" he asked awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. "It's just that, before, you looked..."

"Tired," she finished for him, before he could say what he had meant. "I'm fine."

"You _did _bring food, right?"

"_Yes._ No matter what Redrick makes it look like, I can and do take care of myself." There was a quiet bleat somewhere behind her, probably from Rai. She kept her eyes fixed on the ground. "I never needed a little kid running around after me before, and I don't need it now, so you can stop bothering me!" She said it a bit more sharply than she had intended, and Aaron winced, an odd expression on his face. Shrugging – it wasn't like she cared if she hurt his feelings – she shoved him to one side and strode ahead, catching up with Redrick.

He led them to the very edge of the disaster area, examining the shimmering green wall that bordered it as if such an obstacle didn't matter. Tala kept well away, knowing how sensitive it was. Redrick hummed tonelessly, one of the habits that she hated. "A little fresh air should do us some good, you know," he remarked carelessly. "I got clearance from Nem and everything. Aaron, I've heard you've got a Psychic-type?"

"Er, yeah..." A flicker of red light and the Gallade had returned. For a moment, he almost seemed hazy – but that was probably from the low thrumming of the massive Protect thrown around the area. He inclined his head and then waited in a nonchalant stance. Redrick nodded in approval.

"Right, so all we need is a small version of this shield. Calm Mind and Protect at the same time, should be easy enough."

_No._

Tala groaned. Psychic-types were _always _like this. Redrick raised an eyebrow. "No, it won't be easy?" he prodded.

_No. There is also a Safeguard, to ensure nothing... _The Gallade hesitated. _So that nothing happens. A Calm Mind might not be enough. But I am quite capable of sustaining something of this sort, provided you stay close together._ That explanation seemed satisfactory, because once Tala had called in all her Pokemon other than Torrent, and she had finally moved closer to Redrick and Aaron, the Gallade raised the shield. It was, surprisingly enough, not the green she was used to seeing but a pale blue. Not inclined to pay much attention, she waited impatiently as a small opening in the larger shield was made, and then closed behind them as the little group moved from sunlight into the gloom of heavy clouds.

Redrick claimed they wouldn't go far and they didn't – not beyond sight of the green shield and that brilliant patch of sky. Sitting on a rock, with the Gallade and Torrent standing guard, she finally ate something, barely tasting it. It wasn't difficult to spot what the Pokemon had done to Celadon. The tall buildings and elegant gardens were ruined, choked by rubble and surrounded by snaking, green vines. She found herself unable to look away, hating most the buildings that still stood, supported by wild greenery and somehow more broken than the houses that had toppled completely.

Aaron had been the first to finish eating, and he stood up suddenly, head tilting to one side as he looked at the city. His Gallade moved to stand beside, red eyes flat and expressionless. After a few minutes of that, the shield dropped for a moment. Redrick winced, eyes narrowing. "Hey –"

_Look_.

Those few buildings that still stood suddenly groaned, as if the city was something that was audibly dying. Slowly, one wall fell, surrounded by a blue glow, followed by another, and another, until a blanket of vines covered the destruction. Tala shook her head.

_This place is dead. Humans will never live here again._

That statement was arrogant enough for her to scowl, hating the bitter truth that was there. "You never know. In a hundred years, maybe people will come back here and rebuild..." If humans were still alive then. That one act of destruction – so easily done as if a giant had simply swatted the buildings over with a massive hand – it bothered her. Even Redrick's mood was dampened as they turned back from the dead city. Back to life, and those fighting to live. Back to duty.

Back to the inevitable.


	6. 5: A Wounded World

**AN: **Yeah it's been... a while. Again. Gotta love my big timesinks, eh? Well! I do have excuses, such as being on holiday and then worrying about friends and then having school and NaNoWriMo - that didn't turn out successfully, by the way - and BIG STRESSFUL PROJECTS and then I suddenly got hit with muse. About half of this chapter was written in this week, with many interruptions and minuscule breakdowns and me being a snappish brat whenever something forced me to get up. Buuuut it is done, and I hope it's satisfactory. Some plot and character development in this chapter, just to make things more interesting~

Not that I'm aware that many people actually read this, but hey. Reviews are like awesome cookies of doom, and will be rewarded with massive heaps of sincere praise.

Chapter Five – A Wounded World

The day stretched on, the brief flickers of sunshine distorted, made into something rare and brief and utterly twisted. The blue sky was a welcome change from the clouds everywhere else, but the shield tinted all the light, so none of it felt... _right_. Tala had long since gotten used to it, as had Redrick – they simply didn't look up. Aaron, however, couldn't ignore it, and she found him staring up several times, frowning in thought. "Stop that," she finally ordered, not pausing in studying a patient's hands. Blisters were beginning to form on the reddened skin, and her heart sank as she realized that she was dealing with frostbite. Aaron gave her another apologetic glance – it appeared he was good at looking pitiable – and drifted closer in case she needed something.

The patient was awake and complaining, but she felt he had a right to, even if he wasn't in mortal danger. "What Pokemon did this?" she asked carefully, and he grimaced.

"I was traveling with a group of friends for safety, you know? We thought if we got to a big city, it would be... safer. But one of them had a Glaceon, and it just snapped and started attacking. Our other Pokemon – they stopped it, but not before we got hit with Icy Wind. When we finally got here, they sent us all to this section for frostbite." She frowned, and he, seeing an opening, added "And this fucking hurts, you know? Can you stop staring and do something about it? You have a Fire-type right there."

Tala gritted her teeth. What he was asking was so simple, and if she had proper medical knowledge, she could have done something confidently, knowing she was right. But she – and everyone else – operated in a limited field. The Pokemon Centres held the useful documents, and they had all been destroyed. The trained nurses could pass on their knowledge, but specific, little things didn't matter as much as knowing how to keep someone alive for the next few hours. Berries and Pokemon and the old remedies only helped so much. So she was at a loss here. There was no time for experimenting, because he was still alive and would likely keep his hands – she had to be happy with that. "I can't," she said slowly, hating the bitter shame in her words.

He stared at her. She knew what disbelieving question would spring to his lips, so she cut it short.

"Look, I don't know if applying heat to the rest of your body will help or hurt you, so I _can't _use Flare to just melt it, so shut up and sit there while I do what works," she explained in a rush. "Aaron, get a bowl." She didn't bother looking up – she could hear him running off. She hadn't dealt with frostbite often, but she knew that the ugly blisters would eventually harden and turn black – but she didn't _think _he was in trouble. Really, Aaron could do this... All it required was patience, which she certainly didn't have. Maybe she shouldn't have been gleeful about having an assistant – she certainly wasn't _glad_, not when he was so annoying and inexperienced, but she had never been able to delegate before. There was still something about him that bothered her, that sometimes he was too absent, too focused on something else...

It could be just her general annoyance with people who wasted her time. It would be so easy to simply pass it off as that.

"So why can't you just heat up my arms, or whatever?"

She lifted her gaze from her patient's reddened hands and scowled at him. "Because the difference in temperature might fry your nerves. I can't be sure, so it's easier to just do what's always worked." Not that she had to do this often, but at least she knew what the usual treatment was. "Just be glad we don't have to chop anything off." He paled, and she tried not to look pleased that she had shut him up. Aaron returned quickly enough with the promised bowl. She set it on the ground and watched as Torrent began to fill it with water, the Feraligatr controlling what usually would have been a blast. That had been one of the hardest things when they were learning – all her Pokemon had to learn control, more than the power they had focused on before.

When the bowl was almost full, the Water-type drew back, giving enough room so that Flare could curl around it. Tala backed up as well, wincing as a wave of heat hit. The Houndoom looked quite fierce, fire roiling around his jaws and muscles tensed. She knew – from considerable experience – that his body constantly radiated heat, but whenever he used a Fire-type move, that heat increased. The water in the bowl hissed, warming up quickly, but only once it began to steam did he let the flames dwindle, a few spurting out to lick at the air. Tala waved a hand through the air over it, winced again and carefully picked it up. It was, expectedly, hot, and she was more than happy to set it down beside the trainer.

"Here. Dip your hands in this. Aaron, you might have to help him. Flare, stay –" A low, troubled whine made her heart twinge, but she fought back the impulse to give in. Damn it, he _knew _how to make her regret orders. "_Stay. _Keep the bowl hot." And she fled before she could chance a look at him.

Sometimes she doubted if it was wise to keep her Pokemon out all the time. What if the shield failed? And it was difficult, to have an escort this large. Torrent was slow-moving out of water and when not on all fours, and though Shard and Flare could keep pace with her easily, there just wasn't enough room for them, the hulking Water-type and both Sage and Rai. Senica thought she trusted too easily, but she couldn't bear to keep her Pokemon trapped in Pokeballs all the time. And really – though she hadn't ever said this, as Redrick would have found someone for counselling immediately – if she had to die, she would rather have been killed by her Pokemon than the mindless fury of a swarm. Of course, she knew that act would cause them pain, and she didn't _want _that, but...

"Tala!" That was Senica's voice, harsh with alarm. She didn't even bother asking what was wrong – she just ran.

* * *

"_This seems kind of unneccessary."_

"_Does it?"_

"_I mean, I report directly to you anyways – there's no real point in bothering to –"_

"_Call it a hunch. Do not worry, I will not remain for long."_

"_Really?"_

"_I merely wish to check something. You will see soon."_

_

* * *

_

She hadn't been sure what she was expecting to see – some sort of massacre, maybe, or a wounded Pokemon that had attacked everything around it – but when she came to a stop beside Senica, there was only one person, a simple human being. Defenseless, without a Pokemon, and hunched over on the ground. "What's wrong?" she demanded. The man wasn't someone she recognized, but Flare began to growl, red eyes fixed on him as he rocked back and forth. "Is he hurt?" Senica flapped a hand at her for silence, glaring daggers, and she shut up, watching the man. He looked like a medic, if anything, and apparently uninjured, but... something about how he held himself, arms wrapped around his knees, made her skin crawl.

He suddenly lifted his head to stare at them, and she took a step back involuntarily. His eye sockets looked bruised, as if he hadn't been sleeping well. That wasn't the unnerving thing, but his eyes seemed to be locked on something behind them. She shrank back, welcoming the solid comfort of Torrent behind her. Senica wasn't as easily scared, and just knelt down. "Hey, Hunter. You remember me and Tala, don't you?" she said gently, words slow and soothing.

He nodded jerkily, still looking past them. Tala relaxed, assuming Senica would know how to deal with whatever problem he had, but his words shattered that illusion.

"You're real, right?"

Senica stared at him, and Tala shivered. There was something so _wrong _here. His lips twitched, and his eyes flicked behind them again. "You have to be real. I think you're real, not a dream – not a dreamdreamdream..."

She couldn't help it, backing up even more, hating herself for it. She could take wounds and death but not, not _this_. He noticed her movement, fixed his gaxe on her, and said wistfully, "He says sorry, in my dreams. He says sorry, but he does it anyways, so I can't sleep, and perchance to dream – the shadows move, you know, they move and chase me while he apologizes..." Her skin wasn't crawling anymore – she felt cold, shuddering because of his words, his detached tone, the look in his eyes.

"What the – what the _fuck_," she managed to whsiper, her voice trembling. Shitshitshit, she had never thought that their shields were perfect, but Pokemon weren't supposed to go insane inside them – and never humans, but this guy... he terrified her. No, not him, but what she saw in his eyes, in the exhaustion and fear there.

"Tala! Get a hold of yourself," Senica snapped, and she shrank back, clinging to Torrent as a lifeline. This was wrong, so so wrong... she wanted to throw up. Retch again and again, try to get rid of the sight of his _eyes_. There was a sickly sounding sob, and she dimly realized that the man – Hunter, Senica had called him – was laughing or crying, or maybe both, shoulders trembling with the effort. "Come on, he needs help –"

But she was backing away. She couldn't help him, couldn't bring herself to go near. She needed to get _away_. Ignoring the concern and rage in the other medic's voice, she turned and moved blindly away, falling into a stumbling sort of run. She had no fear of outdistancing her Pokemon – she could see Shard pacing her, paws tapping lightly on the ground. Gradually, she realized he was sheperding her, nudging her to the left or the right, and eventually she ended up in front of a startled Aaron, with her Houndoom beside him and his own Pokemon looming right behind.

"Tala! You – you look... terrible," he said awkwardly. "What happened?" She stared at him blankly, and then closed her eyes, trying to block everything out. A warm muzzle pushed against her hand as Flare trotted over to her side, and Shard leaned against her leg, both of them doing their best to comfort them. How pathetic, really. She couldn't do this – could never do this. Why couldn't she go back to how it had started out, a girl and a Totodile on a path at night, possibilities all expanding from that one moment? Why?

She hadn't wanted to heal people and cover her hands with their blood, to see them die, to hear them ask for their Pokemon and feel that same claw of fear clench around her heart, a reminder that _her _Pokemon could die, _her _lifelines could be cut away. She hadn't wanted to be stuck with a partner who noticed too much or a crazy apprentice who bothered her in a way she couldn't pin down.

Back then – if she could just forget all of this and go back – back then, it had been so _simple_.

The slow, lumbering footsteps of Torrent – the Feraligatr's gait distinctive because of the dragging sound of his tail – announced that the rest of her party had arrived. Suddenly aware that Aaron was probably still staring at her, she muttered a gruff, "I'm fine," turning away and scrubbing at the dampness on her cheeks. "It was just – it was nothing. You're done with this... this section?"

He let his breath out in a long sigh. She was suddenly grateful that he seemed so... meek – Redrick would have persisted in asking, but Aaron just accepted it. "Not... not quite. There's one last person I wanted you to take a look at. I... don't know what to do." The Gallade – she had thought him almost a statue, just standing there quietly – finally moved, eyes flicking to the side and shifting his weight. Maybe he had said something to Aaron, maybe not. Regardless, she was too tired and shaken to bother asking.

"Sure, whatever. Show me."

The walk was short, but before they had even gotten there she was feeling even more nervy. Shard – one of the most quiet of her party – was growling softly, and he bristled as he paced her. Rai had stopped at one moment and bleated nervously, and Sage's flowers spun ceaselessly on her head, too-rich scent wafting around her at erratic intervals. They knew something was up, something bad, and Tala knew she wasn't prepared to see someone going crazy again.

She wrinkled her nose, filled with relief, as Aaron led her to what was probably a female trainer. Her eyes were closed and she was breathing evenly, but her skin was covered in what looked to be a hundred tiny cuts, each shallow but bleeding. A few bandages had been tied into place, but otherwise, she had been left alone. Strange, but... It probably looked far worse than it was. "Why is that one even here? It looks like she got hit by Razor Leaf or something like that. I hope you don't have problems with bandaging wounds," she managed to say mockingly, but the words dried up as Aaron solemnly pointed to a patch of bare skin on the girl's shoulder.

As if a tiny knife was gouging the flesh, a new cut opened up, done by nothing that she could see. A second one soon followed, both identical to the others.

Now she had her answer for why her Pokemon had been so uneasy – this was just... _wrong._ The same way that medic had looked, now that she thought of it."What – what is it?" she demanded, clenching her hands into fists so they wouldn't tremble.

_A curse, _the Gallade suddenly answered. _From a Ghost Pokemon._

"Can you stop it?"

The Psychic-type stepped forward, reaching out one bladed arm and holding it over the girl's head. There was a brief blue glow, and then he stepped back again. _No. The Pokemon who laid it sacrificed its life to ensure the curse would continue. _There was something like pity in those eerie, red eyes, but she ignored it. All she heard, all she cared about, was the denial.

"You're giving up," she hissed, unable to look away. One of the bandages was growing steadily more blood-soaked, the cuts probably deepening over time. This close, she could smell the metallic reek of too much blood, see how it was going to stain and spread until the girl died.

She didn't want this – didn't want to do this, to be forced to do something, but standing there and watching her die was the only other option, and she couldn't, _wouldn't _do that. Being a medic was better than watching, wasn't it? It meant she was... a better person, right?

_I am not. _Was his 'voice' colder than before?

"You fucking are, she's going to _die_," she gritted out, and ignored the muffled sound of protest Aaron made. Before she could move, the Psychic-type stepped away and towards her. He was barely shorter than her, and she couldn't look away from his gaze.

_Very well, then. _There was something _old_, wisdom stretching far beyond what she could comprehend. _Save her._

She stared at him – he stared back, silent and unmoving. It wasn't a challenge. "Aaron, more bandages, whatever you have for cleaning, and then stay out of my way," she said tightly. The Gallade slid past her without another word, and she focused on the girl in front of her, binding every wound, desperate to staunch the bleeding and close the wounds and _fix it. _

Why had this happened? What had this random girl, this victim, done to deserve this? She was still sleeping, her look of calm somehow worse than if she had been struggling as every new cut was carved into her skin. And yet she was surely bleeding to death – it wouldn't clot, and every time she paid attention to one, another would open, or five, as if the curse was mocking her. The Gallade had given up. She wouldn't. She wouldn't let her die – she was going to live if Tala had to drag her out of the mouth of hell.

When she closed her eyes, she saw red, and her mouth tasted of blood.

Aaron once tried to tell her something, but she ignored him, blocked out his words. He wasn't important – couldn't he see that she had a duty? That she _had _to do this?

Her fingers were covered in blood. She couldn't remember having ever seen so much before. The light was bad, wavering as if it was already dusk – but she didn't look up to check. She couldn't spare any time for distractions, for feeling how tired she was or noticing that her hands were shaking. That all didn't _matter_. There was the light sound of footsteps behind her – probably Aaron checking up on her, trying to see if she had given up yet. Her Pokemon weren't near her – that was strange, but maybe they had gone to check on other patients, or to eat or... something. More footsteps, closer.

"Leave me the fuck alone. Can't you see I'm busy?" she snapped.

_She is dead._

Her head snapped up and she stared at the Gallade that had stepped out in front of her again. "Get away! You're wrong – you're wrong, you've got to be, she's still breathing, I can still save her..." The words came out in a rush, broken apart with sobs as she struggled to focus on the body in front of her. The _girl_, not the body, she was still alive...

Her chest didn't rise or fall under her hands. Tala froze, and then her fingers scrabbled to find a pulse, ignoring the feeling of blood dried and still wet on her hands.

When?

Why hadn't she noticed? _Why_? She was a goddamn medic, she was supposed to know, supposed to tell when people died –

_You are also sixteen years old, _said the voice in her head, soothing and infuriatingly calm. _You were given formal training for a year and then sent out and expected to improvise. You are tired. _Excuses – reasons for why she failed, obstacles and stumbling blocks that she couldn't blame her failures on because she could be better than this, save more lives –

His eyes were glowing blue, she noticed vaguely, a strange light that made his form shimmer and ripple like a mirage. _Enough. You cannot save everyone. _A pause, and then the voice sounded... more solemn, and she could have imagined regret in his eyes. _You will not save everyone. I am sorry. _She knew that – she fucking knew that, had known that all along, but couldn't she save one more person, just _one more_ when she tried?

Her mouth opened, and she was about to tell him to shut up, to get out of her way, out of her _head_, but he stretched out a flickering arm, his eyes blazed with blue fire, and there was a sudden layer of meaning, hidden depths that yawned open for her to sense. _Rest._

_

* * *

_

Muffled voices, like she was hearing them through water. "Holy shit, what happened?"

"There was... a girl. She was cursed. We couldn't do anything, but..."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. She had to pick now to do this again, didn't she?" There is a slight shift in the world, but she can't force her eyes to open. A low rumble wove itself into the conversation. "Yeah, Torrent, just stand still and I'll just..." Something was under her, sturdy and immovable, and she clung to it. Why was she so... sleepy?

"Er... again?"

"It's nothing – she works too hard, you know? Come on, let's go –" The voices faded, and it was so hard to think...

* * *

The girl slid off of her Feraligatr's back, hitting the sleeping bag and still not stirring. She doubtless would wake up in the morning, well rested. Maybe not even bothered by the events of the day before – it was easy to believe, looking at her relaxed face. If one were to move through the uneasy peace of the medics' camp, they would see the brows of those meditating on the barrier crease in confusion. They would see medics and Pokemon gripped in nightmares, unable to wake up. They would see a Gallade, standing silent watch over the barrier – except when the light of the wavering shield flared, and for a moment, the Gallade was not.

They would see something like a phantom – no, two, curves reflected only when they passed through the light - slip through the shield, ghost through the camp on unseen, still wings. They would see Pokemon turn their heads, awaken and watch them pass. They would see the ghosts hover over some tents, as if in benediction, and pass through others unnoticed by the human occupants.

And through it all, many eyes watched them go.


	7. 6: Paint the Land Red

**AN: **OHSNAP MOMENTS AHEAD! I've waited for this chapter for ages, really. Um. And I cut my updating time down by a little! It has not been six months, but rather... four and a bit. Awesome. I still don't have a concrete style of prose writing, alas, unless I want to be cryptic - but I am satisfied with this chapter and thrilled that I can now launch into the INTERLUDE OF EXPOSITION and then MOAR REVELATIONS AND OHSNAP MOMENTS YEAH. The pace is going to pick up now~

Reviews to inform me of how much I suck - or how little - would be amazing.

Chapter Six – Paint the Land Red

Some memories, Tala had long since learned, were like wounds that bled and bled and would never heal. Some would jolt her awake in the night or leave her with bile in her mouth or the feeling of being utterly useless, dust and sand swirling away from her grasp. It wasn't a surprise when she did wake up, head aching and with the unpleasant sensation of being watched. Most of her Pokemon were arrayed in the tent, and she looked around slowly, drinking in the sight of them sleeping so... peacefully. Shard was on her sleeping bag, sleek body curled up near her, while Flare sprawled out comfortably at her side, paws twitching occasionally. Rai was near the entrance, the usual sparks that surrounded him only slightly lessened in slumber. Sage was also near the tent flap, looking outside intently – probably waiting for the chance to get into the sunlight. She turned and chimed, the tone a bit less cheerful than usual.

That was fair, normal – by the difficulty she had moving, how dry her mouth was and how easy it seemed to just lay back and relax... she had probably done too much. Again. Hopefully Redrick wouldn't stomp in and lecture her about it. He didn't understand that it made things... easier. Her Pokemon, at least, knew not to pester her too much about it, even if they showed that they didn't like it.

"I'm fine," she croaked, and grimaced at how her voice betrayed her. There was another low, doubtful chime, and a disapproving rustle of petals as the Grass-type watched her sit up fully. "Really, I am –"

"Well then, you're well enough to talk to me." She was too tired to react instantly, and could only stare as Senica came in, looking down on her. "I'm pretty sure your Pokemon know me well enough, and hate what _you_'ve just pulled enough that they won't save you from this," she remarked, glaring at her for a moment longer before sitting down as well. Not that it helped the feeling of being lectured – she was still glaring. Tala couldn't help but fidget slightly, glancing around to see if she could find Torrent – but he would be outside the tent, "guarding" it. And he had let Senica inside...

"Don't look at your Pokemon – look at me, damn it! They can't protect you all the time, and it just so happens that they're on my side whenever you pull these stupid stunts. Nemian doesn't complain because he does it sometimes too, or he would if he wasn't surrounded by assistants and representatives, but you're not as important. Redrick's too busy to watch over and clearly your little aide would happily let you trample all over him, with your crew of monsters in tow. Which is why I have to do this, now, before you do something even stupider and snap and become totally useless for anything." She leaned forward – she had been talking quickly, as if she hadn't cared about what she was saying.

"I know I shouldn't have, but she was –"

"Dead," Senica snapped, and pushed on as she flinched. "You're a medic, and you're good at remembering basic things for cures and bandaging wounds. One year of books and another of experience, and whatever you picked up before that. You're a good medic. But really, you're just a pair of hands with some skill behind them. You aren't as important as Redrick, or Nemian." She _knew _that, but hearing it was like a slap. "Still, we can't afford to lose you. There are too many people dying and too few of us. So, you're going to stop pushing yourself to save a corpse – someone you _knew _was doomed, because your life is more important. Triage does not even come into this – she was dying, you knew she was, but your own fucking pride and guilt made sure you wrecked yourself doing the impossible. If you keep doing this, either we lock you up and rob ourselves of a medic, or you do something idiotic and kill yourself somehow. I wouldn't put it past you."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Shard's ears twitch, and realized that her team was awake, and eavesdropping shamelessly. "So. Control yourself. Or do you want to risk more lives like on the way here?"

"Redrick told you about that, didn't he?" she managed to say, and for once Senica didn't try to cut her off.

"He's useful for letting me know you've already heard this before. Now, Redrick is nice, in a weird way, and he _probably _wouldn't hurt you any more than your Pokemon would. Me, on the other hand? You haven't changed much since you got here – the world still revolves around you and your Pokemon. You're the same brat you were then, and I'd be more than happy to hurt you if it gets you to _stop doing this_." Her last words were more of a snarl, and the glare had returned in full force. "So what will it be?"

Her mouth was dry, and she swallowed nervously. "Alright. I'll..." _try _would definitely not work. She had 'tried' before, but the promises Redrick and her Pokemon reluctantly accepted wouldn't work on Senica. "Alright. I – I promise. I won't do it again." The response she got was was a raised eyebrow and a doubtful look.

"See that you do. You've wasted enough of my time already – you can rest for two hours, and then go find Redrick and ask him for what you can do." With that, she rose and stalked out of the tent. There was a low rumble, and then Tala could hear her clearly saying, "No, I didn't kill her, calm down – go in and check, if you like." Right after that, Torrent nudged his head through the flap of the tent, golden eyes worried. He didn't wait for her to say anything, and withdrew – there was a loud thud as he settled on the ground outside, casting a large shadow through the canvas. With Senica gone, her party no longer pretended to be asleep – Shard yawned delicately, and Rai bleated, shuffling around to stare at her.

Sage was the only one to stay where she was, staring outside. At least she hadn't decided to glare – that in itself was good. Knowing Torrent wasn't going to offer comfort to her hurt, far more than Senica's words, but... she could deal with it. She _would_. She had to get to the people suffering outside, right? Better than sitting here, doing nothing... She didn't want to move, though – the air smelled sweet, and she felt like she could go right back to sleep. That had to be the consequences of overwork, but she had never felt it this badly before. Still, she needed to... give some sort of explanation. Make things better.

"I know you're angry, but – I just... I needed to do this. I mean, I thought I did. People shouldn't die like that..." She faltered – they were all staring at her, still, and it was as if they hadn't been listening.

Sage chirped. It was a quiet sound, but there was something strange about it, almost as if she were saddened, remorseful...

Final.

Not for the first time, she wished she could understand her Pokemon – the reaction was instant, Flare the first to leap to his feet and growl – but the growl faltered, and she saw him sway on his feet, almost falling back down onto her. That was enough to have her struggle out of the sleeping bag, pushing at Shard to get off – he was limp. Fine, pale green powder glittered on his snout, stark against his short, black fur.

Sleeping powder. This was bad – Sage had sent him to sleep? She must've sprinkled it on the whole room, which was why Flare was having so much trouble. Now that she knew what to look for, she could see it, on the floor and the sleeping bag and on Flare as well. Which meant... How much had she inhaled? She was feeling tired, drowsy, but enough to fall over or slow her down? She was panicking – it was hard to keep her breathing even when her mind was struggling against the drowsiness. Sage had _betrayed _her, but that was impossible, inside the shield. Someone would have told her if the shield had gone down, or one of the Pokemon would have reacted. She had acted fine just yesterday, her thoughts insisted. She had been worried, and she had helped and been more than happy to be of use –

She had sounded so _sad._

"Why –" she croaked and thought better of it – instantly her mouth felt dried out, her throat seizing up. She coughed helplessly, feeling the powder coat her tongue. She was going to die here, just fall over and sleep until she withered away completely.

It would be painless. That didn't make it any less terrifying. Still coughing, she tried to somehow signal her Pokemon – but Rai was the only one awake, his less keen sense of smell saving him from the slumber Shard and Flare had fallen into. Her eyes were so _heavy... _The thought of rest – getting away from the death and the pain and the fear – was so tempting that she almost gave in. It would be so much easier. It wasn't giving up, not really...

Her arm suddenly flared up in pain, her hand burning with it. It jolted her out of the doze she had been in, enough to see Sage staring at her, petals and leaves of her skirt rustling as she moved back and forth. The sound was hypnotic, almost a whisper of soothing noise, but she concentrated on the pain, looking down at her burned hand. She couldn't feel her fingers, which was bad, but she was awake – and that was what mattered, wasn't it? Rai bleated loudly, the sound urgent, and then rushed at his comrade. The Mareep wasn't capable of great turns of speed, but it didn't matter – Sage didn't try to dodge as he rammed her, all the electricity stored in his wool discharging; a bolt of lightning flashed in the tent, searing itself into her vision.

There was a dull roar in her head, and the floor was suddenly a lot closer than it had been. The numbness of her hand had spread to her entire right side, but she couldn't bring herself to care. She had never been that close to a Thunderbolt before, not in cramped quarters. She should have been frightened, worried about how she couldn't move or feel anything. She was going to die if she didn't move. Her mind accepted the fact, the part of her that was screaming and wailing in denial of everything pushed down and stifled. She missed the sound of ripping cloth, but she assumed it was there because suddenly the tent became a great deal smaller, canvas fluttering to reveal a greenish sky.

So the barrier really hadn't fallen. That was good.

But then _why –_

Something slammed into her, and for a moment all she saw was teeth a mere feather's breadth from her face, close enough to feel her starter's breath and be deafened by his snarl. For a heart-stopping moment, she was sure she was going to die – because _Torrent _was attacking her, and that could not be possible, and if it was, it would be better to die than to live with the knowledge that he had tried to kill her –

Then the world tilted and she realized he had grabbed her, claws digging into less numb arms. She had less than a second to try to say something before she found herself incongruously on the ground, staring up at the sky and wondering where her tent had gone. Redrick's face appeared above her, and she tried to speak, but her mouth was dry and she couldn't think of anything to say. _"What the fuck is happening?" _seemed like a good choice, but she had known that she was being attacked, and really, the better question would be _"why?"_ but she wasn't sure if anyone would have an answer.

It was hard to focus on his face , but she could hear him shouting at her, the words all running together for a moment before she sorted them out.

"Hold on – we're going to fix this I promise, just hold still so I can..." He faltered, and she had to force her eyes to stay open. "Fuck – look, all your Pokemon are safe, they're just sleeping... Tala, listen to me!" He was shaking her, which was making her head hurt – why couldn't he stop? Then she could just sleep and wake up and she'd be fine...

She closed her eyes, wishing he'd just leave her alone.

And then he slapped her.

It hurt far more than it should have. For a second, he could just stare at him. He had been – still was – her friend, and he had _hurt _her. He looked back, expression twisted into something she hadn't seen before – not on him, always bright and cheerful and annoyingly mocking – and then stood up.

She tried to sit up, to say something, but could only manage to cough. Her eyes wanted to close, and it felt like exhaustion had settled into her bones and turned them to lead. She couldn't move, could barely catch enough breath to satisfy her lungs. It would have been so _easy_ to give in. But she could think again, and the terror of falling asleep, of what she had been about to do, was coiling around her.

How had she been so stupid?

"Here." Redrick again, this time with a water bottle that he offered. When she made no move to sit up and take it, he sighed and propped her up, supporting her shoulders with an arm and holding the bottle to her lips. The first few gulps soothed her throat, and after one last cough, she managed to rasp, "Thanks."

"What happened?"

"Sage – is she alright?"

He frowned at her, and there was that strange look in his eyes again, painful and irritated and relieved. "Tala, I think this is –"

"Show me what happened," she broke in insistently, and he didn't argue, only pointed.

She wished she hadn't had so much water. She was now fully capable of throwing up. Her tent was shredded, and her Pokemon scattered about as if they had simply chosen to sleep there, Flare and Shard curled up peacefully. Rai was swaying visibly, but when he saw her looking, bleated and ran to her on his stubby legs. The Mareep scrambled onto her lap and pressed himself against her, his wool completely absent of the usual electrical discharge. She reflexively started to pet him, arms stiff. The movements were soothing, but not enough to keep her stomach lurching when she found Sage. Torrent was standing over her body, the ice that had coated his jaws only melting now.

"She's dead."

Rai suddenly shoved her hand aside and planted his head on her shoulder, and she didn't have the strength to try and move him. Redrick let go of her, carefully, and she felt like she should have collapsed long ago, was falling and would continue to fall forever –

"She tried to kill you. She... couldn't live." It wasn't fair, but it was true, and the only thing they could have done. Her Pokemon – they would have fought for her. Rai bleated next to her ear, trying to be comforting. Somehow, though she had known and feared it, she had never thought one of her team would try to kill her – and another of her Pokemon would kill that one in turn. It was a nightmare that refused to let go of her.

Everything had changed.

* * *

"_I understand now."_

"_Are you ready?"_

"_..."_

"_All our hopes rest on this."_

"_I am."_

* * *

"Go away."

"Not until you explain what happened," Nemian insisted, managing to sound weary and put-upon. "Senica said your Pokemon were fine when she went in. How long after she saw you did it start?" She looked away and he sighed – not for the first time. "Please."

"Two... three minutes? I didn't realize it. She was – " There was a lump in her throat, one that lodged and kept any words from escaping when she thought of Sage. "She must have... been doing it for a while. I didn't notice that Shard was asleep." She wasn't in danger anymore, though Nemian had insisted that she put her Pokemon away and ensure they stayed inside. Senica had been the one to treat her inhalation of Sleep Powder, and Flare, Shard and Rai had all been sleeping when she had returned them.

She was worried about her team, but it felt like that worry was encased in glass and tucked away. It couldn't vanquish how sick and tired she felt. Tired of all of this. Sick to her stomach that this could have happened. The memories of camping and meeting other travellers and when the world had been peaceful and bright seemed like a dream.

"Tala?"

He was too tired to sound worried too. She wondered if he was scared. "What?"

"Do you know how it happened?" She must have not heard him the first time. Still, the question made her wish she could be angry, or at least annoyed.

"No." It was hard to dredge up more words, to try to explain how sad and quiet Sage had been, how much it must have hurt. It wouldn't have made sense anyways. The silence hung there as Nemian shifted, looking uncomfortable. She didn't want to see him, didn't want to see anyone – Senica had already come in to... not apologize, but say something, and Redrick had been avoiding her so she knew he felt bad about it.

_This should not have happened. _And that was the crux of it, simple and wiping out all morale.

The barrier was up, a melding of Psychic energies to ensure the sanity of the Pokemon inside. No other Pokemon had been affected, the reports said, but some of the medics had nightmares and hadn't been able to work. That, too, shouldn't have happened. People were dying, and they were stretched thin and then there was _this_.

A knock at the door – she had been put into one of the only standing buildings, and Nemian did his work there. He looked up. "Come in!"

Aaron walked in, skin paler than usual. He stopped when he saw her, lounging in a chair and her Pokeballs on the floor. "You're alright!"

Nemian quirked an eyebrow. "I would think so. Only one Pokemon turned on her, and she was the weakest one, too." He combed his hair back, getting up with another sigh. "We were lucky."

She stiffened. Losing her Pokemon – even if it was Sage, younger and weaker than the rest – was _lucky_? It was so hard to rationalize that it had not been more, that they could still keep going, that it _was _fortunate. Nemian was thinking of the greater good, of the effort to send relief to all of the afflicted cities in Johto.

"Right," Aaron said shakily. He was shifting from foot to foot, and for once he didn't look absentminded at all – rather, he seemed almost scared. That... made sense. She didn't see his Gallade anywhere nearby, so she assumed he was in his Pokeball, or wandering around and being a creep somewhere else. "Um, sir... could I talk to her? Alone?" And astonishingly enough, he managed to somehow master the innocent eyes of a Growlithe puppy pleading for food, locking on to Nemian and looking incongruously adorable.

"Well... Alright, but I need to work. I'll be back in fifteen minutes. Is that enough?" he conceded, shooting a dubious look at the two of them. Tala had no idea what was going on, unless Aaron had been in training to be a therapist and was trying on her – but that excuse rang hollow, and she was unable to bring herself to scorn him, this time. It just didn't matter enough. There was a Sage-shaped hole in the world, and she couldn't look at any of her Pokemon – those who had been forced into sleep by her, and the two that had worked together to kill her. It was Torrent that had delivered the killing blow. Redrick hadn't told her that, but Senica had, with the relentless tone that she used whenever she said anything Tala didn't want to hear. Somehow, knowing he had done it – because he was her starter, her caretaker, her guardian – made everything seem so much worse.

She had tuned out Aaron's quiet confirmation and Nemian's exit – she only took notice of the trainee again when he crouched down in front of her. "Are... are you alright?"

She turned to look at him and he ducked his head. "I'm sorry – I know that sounded stupid. Um. Where were you hurt?"

"...My arms, and my side. From Rai, mostly. He was using Discharge, I think." Even to herself, her voice sounded... dull. Tired. "Look, I'm..." _fine_ died in her throat. "I'm alive. Can you leave now?"

"I'm sorry."

She looked up at him and scowled. "I know you are. It doesn't matter – I'm sick of hearing people say it."

"...Not that," he said slowly, and he looked even more nervous than before.

"Then what?" she snapped. "That my arms are still numb? That one of my Pokemon killed the other?"

"No." He smiled, sadly, as if he wasn't younger and less experienced than her, as if he knew far more than she did. "For this." He reached out and grabbed her wrist, but she couldn't swear at him, demand for him to let go even though his grip hurt because his eyes were glowing, and she couldn't look away. He was still smiling as the world lurched and folded in on itself, making her head pound with vertigo as it unfurled into darkness and the musty air of an untouched place.

She couldn't look away, but his smile finally faltered as she fell forward into the darkness.

"I'm so sorry."


	8. 0: Interlude

**AN: **This is... useful exposition and backstory and some foreshadowing. It is also a writing experiment for me in order to make my dialogue smoother. As such, it is mostly dialogue. It's a hit or miss situation, and I hope it conveys what I want it to, rather than flopping.

Also, reviews? Reviews would be _wonderful_. I mean it. ._.

_Interlude_

"Do you want to watch the Goldenrod match? Or maybe the Sinnoh tournament semi-finals?"

"But I've already seen those! I don't want to watch them _again_. Besides, they're boring."

"Well, alright... but we'll be gone for a week for this one. I thought you'd want to see some of our old battles, to see what it looks like."

"But they're boring! I want to go play with Pharaoh."

"We're taking him with us for the tournament... sorry, dear."

_Why does she always feel..._

"Why don't you play with Lilah?"

"All she want to do is get ready for contests... it's boring."

"Maybe battle with Tom? He has a Zigzagoon, that's a Normal-type from Hoenn, and you know any of our Pokemon will obey you –"

"That's boring too! I just want to... do something different. We could go camping? Please?"

"Maybe next week... The tournament –"

_...so alone?_

* * *

"You _said _you would try it..."

"I don't want to. I don't want to battle, and I don't want a Pokemon."

"Dear, you're twelve – you're old enough to have one of your very own. Don't you want to camp and travel? If you really want to quit, once you're done the circuit you can just go home. You're more than ready, after all."

"...How long will it take?"

"A year at most! You can take a boat to the islands if you're taking the gym challenge, but really, it's the experience that matters."

"Fine."

"Oh, good – ah, you, we're the parents, you said you had one of the rare Pokemon for us?"

_She thought it would be an Eevee, or one of the out of region Pokemon that they so value in fighting – but it is a little thing, with red spikes and oversized jaws, grinning up at all of them. _

"This is a Totodile, and it is rare – only trainers planning to compete in the gym challenge usually have the choice of this, or its two counterparts. I hope it's to your satisfaction?"

_He doesn't sound happy. They must have paid for this, she realizes._

"Of course – thank you for this opportunity. Well, what do you think, dear?"

"..."

"Don't you like it?"

"It's fine."

_But it never is._

* * *

"I don't have any food for you."

"Toto!"

"...I don't want you. I want to go home. They won't let me."

"..."

"They want me to do so much – always training this and those strategies and use this if your opponent uses this, like you're all tools to be swapped in and out to be sacrificed, and it's so _stupid_!"

"...Toto?"

"Never mind. You wouldn't know. I'm sick of it."

"Dile – toto toto dile~"

"Just go back to the Professor. I don't want you."

"Dile."

"I said to go – I'm your trainer, you're supposed to obey me, right? So go!"

"..._Dile."_

"...Fine. Just leave me alone." _Everyone else seems happy to leave her, so why doesn't it? Just sitting there, looking so happy with itself. Stupid Pokemon._

* * *

"I can't believe this... all our – _my _supplies. Gone because of a Sentret. And I'm _hungry_."

"...Di..."

"I should have kept watch. I forgot they don't mind humans... I'm so stupid! If I had stayed up just this once, this wouldn't have happened."

"Dile?"

"Shut up. It's not like you're any help." _She wants the easy presence of her parents' Pokemon, not him, eager and waiting for orders. He is not right – a trainer's Pokemon when she is anything but. Through him are her parents and their hopes._

"We need to find some food. It's summer, there has to be a bush or something with berries..."

_She realizes what hunger is, the first day. The second, she eats something without noticing what it is, too hungry to care. The third, she dreams._

Dreams? Something about... dreams. Am I dreaming? Am I asle –

"Dile! Todile, toto..."

"Nnngh... what is it?"

"Diii..."

"You have food?"

_Just Berries, too sweet for her to choke down at first. He makes sure she eats them, brings her more until she sleeps again, and doesn't dream._

* * *

"You need a name, I guess."

"Toto~"

"Yeah... you're a Water-type, so... Torrent?"

"Di!"

"Alright, that's settled, then. Let's go."

_They move properly. She buys supplies, calls her parents, watches as Torrent dashes back and forth and fights Rattata and Weedle. It is idyllic, until the sixth day._

"Hey, you!"

"...What?"

"Yeah, I'm talking to you. You have a Pokemon, right?"

"No, that's a _wild_ Totodile. Obviously."

"Oh, sorry – wait, you have Pokeballs! You _are _a trainer. I challenge you to a battle!"

"...I don't."

"What?"

"I don't battle. I mean, he can if he wants to, but I don't – "

"Whatever! Go, Magnus!"

"Dile?"

"Just fight if you want to. I'm not going to do anything."

"...Dile."

_Maybe she misses the disappointment there, or ignores it. The fight goes on as if planned, and he wins, and she gives him a Potion and everything clicks back into place once more. The usual journey._

* * *

"I think there's something there..."

_Bright eyes watch them for an hour. The next day, for two. And on the third – _

"Torrent, I..."

"_To."_

"There's a Pidgey. I think it's stalking us – "

"Pidgooo~"

"Wait, no, don't use Water Gun!"

"..."

"Dgo~"

_The Totodile tries to look ashamed while the Pidgey preens itself in her wet hair. She splutters, but does not mean it, and eventually shifts the bird to her shoulder. They continue on, and she carves silences for herself, and they watch and do their best._

* * *

"Hey. You."

"What?"

"What's your name?"

"Tala."

"Tala what?"

"It's none of your business. What's yours?"

"Sasha, and I suppose since you won't tell me _your _last name..."

"What do you want?"

"How many Pokemon do you have?" _She wants her to leave her alone – she hates this, the round of questions and answers that end in fights._

"Two."

"Toto~"

"A Totodile? You must have money or luck. My first's a Phanpy."

"Good for you." _The other frowns at her, as if she isn't making it clear enough._

"Do you have any badges yet?"

"_No. _Go _away."_

"Well, if you have a Pidgey... Violet City is right there, and I'm sure he could handle the Bellsprout trainers, at least. Come on, you look like you've been camping out for _days_, I bet you're running out of food too."

"Wha – hey! Let go!"

I can't be dreaming, can I? Not when I _know –_

* * *

_A shaking tower, with Sasha grinning at her while Talon soars among the beams. She is afraid of failing, of success, of things she can't even name. Childish fear._

"So, if you go through this, and then beat Falkner, I'll hook up one of my friends and have them give you a Pokemon."

"What? That's not – you _dragged _me here, why should I listen to anything you say?"

"I'm your friend, of course!"

"..."

"Don't look at me like that, it's not like I'm holding a knife to your throat. Come on, just do it and go through. Your Pokemon will be happier. See how excited your Pidgey is?"

"I..."

"After this I'll take you outside where there are some Mareep. I bet you're not good at catching them yet because you're a rookie, but Mareep tend to be docile enough, so – "

"_Why are you helping me?"_

"Why not?"

_And she grins at her and ruffles her hair and then stares until she finally takes a step forward._

* * *

"But I don't _want _a Mareep."

"And I don't want to hear you whine. Come on, you need one for Falkner..."

"Who I don't want to _fight_..."

"But you will, because if you don't, I swear I'll tie you up and drag you there. I can do that. I have a Donphan now."

_It's easier to have someone else decide for her. She feels she should stick to her promise to never become a trainer, but it's not like she has much of a choice, and she can tell that her Pokemon like it. _

"Alright, _fine_ – there's one."

"Have you caught a Pokemon before?"

"No."

"But your Pidgey, it's with you."

"It stalked me."

"Pfft – you have a stalker and it's a _Pidgey?_"

"Shut up."

"No, this is too rich, your Pokemon like you so much that they just follow you? Is that how you expect to get your whole team? Fate will just plop them around you and you'll pick them up as if you were a Chosen One?"

"It's getting away – "

"Oh fine. Go, Hiathor! Just weaken it, you know the drill."

_It ends predictably, and she holds a ball of fuzz in her arms. It makes her fingertips tingle, and she can't refuse the "gift", though Sasha tells her it doesn't count because this is to beat the gym._

"What about a name for this one?"

"Rai."

_A wrinkled nose, laughing eyes. _"God, you're original aren't you?"

"Shut up."

* * *

_Sasha measures their time and goals in badges and teammates, as if it's a contest. She does the same with quiet moments by the campfire, Talon's discordant singing with Rai and Torrent alternately joining in or convincing the Pidgey to shut up. Having them sleep around her, Rai on her stomach and Talon on her shoulder and Torrent cuddled in her arms like a toy. Evolution and growing wings and careful hours shearing wool._

_It should scare her. She could live like this, happily._

_The Pokemon are happy. Sasha keeps Tala from being herself, restrains her without knowing it. It works._

There are things you're not supposed to think about, in dreams. Like that you're asleep and dreaming and it makes you _wake up –_

"Look, I _told _you I was giving you a Pokemon if you beat Falkner."

"Isn't three enough?" _She sounds pathetic, even to herself._

"No, not if you want to be someone useful. Look, it kind of... split, but I will beat you up if you don't accept both."

"Beat me up?"

"I'm serious! One of the gymleaders, Chuck, and the Elite Four Bruno – they both know some wicked martial arts, and if you learn some, you can train with your Pokemon. It's really a good idea to know at least _something_."

"Oh. Uh, Sasha?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you teach me, then?"

"Of course! Come on – " _More quiet moments, more peace in the mornings and evenings. Torrent evolves, and she watches him practise hitting targets and moving, training himself as if she didn't exist. _

* * *

"When you said they _split – _I thought you meant... well, I didn't know what you meant but I didn't think there'd be _two_."

"Wimp."

_She scowls and Sasha laughs at her, holding out the squirming Houndour pup. It barks at her, and licks her hand when she holds it out._

"It's hot!"

"He's a Fire-type, what did you expect? Now take him, I've got another."

"_Sasha..."_

"_Tala..." _

_They are both grinning, and she can't help it. She hoists the pup and Torrent growls jealously from his usual position at her side, but quiets when she bends down to acquaint the pup with the rest. _

"You better not be a stick in the mud for this, alright? You won't believe how much I had to talk, and if you just _refuse_..."

"You'll beat me up?"

"Yeah. Here you go."

_And she is holding an Eevee kit, too small and too thin, staring at her with the same surprise that's on her own face. Sasha claps her on the back and talks about someone named Bill and favours and eventually she regains enough poise to ask what happened._

"To that one? Well, it's bred, but it's kind of a thing with Eevees – a rule – that no one tries to evolve them too soon because then they're all stunted and stuff."

"Oh." _There is a quiet rage in her voice, a 'how can anyone do this', that is too familiar._

"Yeah, and with this one? The owner tried to make him a Vaporeon, but it was still too soon – they both freaked out and the owner broke the evolution, or something like that. Then he got scared that someone noticed – there are microchips on the good breeder Pokemon, you know? – and just dumped him on a corner or something like that. Bill was pretty pissed off and was just going to raise him himself but I told him you were pretty good, so..."

"Wait, what? But I'm not a _trainer_, I don't need an Eevee –"

"Shut up and take him, alright? You need to think of shoddy names for these two now too."

"You suck."

* * *

_They train by themselves, without her needing to be there. Flare regularly trots into Ilex Forest, and only after he collapses once in there does she start following him on his ventures. Shard does not train, and she does not ask him to._

_Sasha scoffs and shows her how to punch people and hangs around, despite having five badges and no real need to stay._

"Hey."

"What is it? Flare do something stupid like steal someone's shoe again?"

"That only happened once!"

"Still, a melted shoe? I'm glad you like to live out in the woods and camp like crazy rather than rent hotel rooms. Those shoes cost a lot of money..."

"I wanted to ask why you're doing this."

_A pause as Sasha finally looks at her, not pretending to be confused. _"Teasing you...?"

"_Helping _me. And don't give me a stupid answer."

"Someone's snappy today... Alright, fine, if it bothers you so much. I'm doing it because you remind me of my younger sister, and of a little puppy someone kicked and threw out into the world and is trying to act tough while starving to death."

"...Oh."

"Besides, you're weird. It's entertaining. I don't think I've ever seen someone put up so much fuss over battling and catching Pokemon."

"That's – that's not..."

"I'm not going to ask why, but it's funny, you know? I told Bill you probably wouldn't make Shard battle if he didn't want to, and you totally proved me right."

_They sit in silence while Shard sleeps on her lap. Another clear moment to remember. She feels betrayed, somehow, bu Sasha's answer, but at least it isn't because of her parents._

* * *

"Check her out! She'll be my ticket through the last gymleaders!"

"A Larvitar?"

"Adorable, right? But they can eat a mountain of dirt to grow properly in the wild. This one's Abyssia."

"Oh. You're training her?"

"Of course."

_More days slip by as Abyssia clashes with others, Sasha's own Pokemon. Flare and Torrent challenge her often, sometimes winning, sometimes losing. Talon flies farther, and she eventually challenges Bugsy, goes on to Goldenrod, and then to Ecruteak. Ecruteak is nice because it is small and traditional and quiet, without many people. Goldenrod is her antithesis, and Sasha doesn't protest when she often camps outside or sleeps in Pokemon Centres when they're there, refusing to see the sights._

_Ecruteak is a place of memories, and sadness._

_A place for ghosts._

* * *

"What's that noise?"

"Probably a Stantler. Abyssia could take anything here by now, probably. We should keep moving..."

"Yeah."

"When are you going to challenge Morty?"

"I don't know, soon. I guess."

"You're always so boring, Tala. Don't you ever improvise?"

_She rolls her eyes, smiles when she catches Sasha doing the same. _

"Hey, I heard that noise again."

"Like I said, it's probably a... wait."

_Shard nuzzles at her ankles, and Rai and Torrent press close, until she is sure that she can't move without tripping over them. Talon circles overhead, and Flare mirrors him on the ground, whining nervously._

"They've never been like this. It has to be big."

"It _what? _An Ursaring?"

"I don't know, be _quiet_."

_Abyssia screeches, turning around. A flash of red and silver, something moving too fast and then her mind shuts down, because the screech goes _on _and _on.

I don't want to remember this let me wake up I need to –

"Abyssia! Abyssia, return! Tala, get out –"

"What, why?"

_Somehow, the Larvitar avoids the first flash of red light and then the ground shakes, and her Pokemon are pushing her back and snarling with fear. Sasha is yelling something, and she can't do anything, always so useless to do anything at all – _

_And then they're in the bushes, and when she stumbles her team nips her ankles and drives her forward until they are lost. Off the road, and she shakes for hours._

It's a nightmare, I don't want to remember this, I need to wake up _now –_

_She goes back, even though Talon flies into her face and buffets her head with his wings and screeches. Rai and Shard don't fight her, but Torrent and Flare hound her the whole way, stop her and cut her off until she shouts and then finally back down when she gets loose and finds her way back._

_The path is ruined. There are boulders everywhere, torn from the ground, and the ground is cracked and Sasha isn't there._

_Because Sasha is the one who was beside her all this time, all brightness and fire and laughter and that thing can't be her and so she keeps moving, reports the tragedy. They try to question her and she quietly slips out in the night and she's on the way to Mahogany by dawn, tired and hungry and not in the mood to care._

_All dreams eventually break. There comes a time when you wake up, and the idyllic journey was just another dream._

* * *

"You look exhausted."

"Nnn."

"Where'd you come from? Ecruteak?"

"Sort of."

"Want some coffee?"

"I have money."

"You know food is free in a Pokemon Centre, right?"

"Oh. ...Yeah."

"Yeah, here, let me get it for you. Did you hear?"

"..."

"They say wild Pokemon on some of the routes are freaking out. Attacking people and stuff. It's like a Rocket plot, except they're disbanded. I've heard some trainer got crushed near Ecruteak, actually..."

"Thanks for the coffee."

"Leaving already? Well... bye."

* * *

_She suffers. They go through Mount Mortar because there is no way around, and she is blinded and deafened from an Explosion. From there, she has to rely on her team completely. Talon is useless except to chase off Zubat and Golbat, but Flare lights their way, and Rai and Shard comfort her._

_Torrent evolves, shielding her from an Air Cutter, and it is the most terrifying moment after her awakening, because he is large and heavy and the air echoes a thousand times over with his snarl._

_He carries her the rest of the way through the mountain caves. _

_She thinks it is difficult, then, but she manages to reach Mahogany Town. She buys Everstones with money left over from trainer battles, and learns of gymleaders and Elite Four scrambling to mobilize. Disappearing into the wilderness again will kill her, and her Pokemon. _

_She never needs to make that choice._

* * *

"What are they doing?"

"What? Oh, you just got here, right? Your Pokemon must be strong to make it through."

"Yeah..."

"Well, they say that two Pokemon Centres have been trashed, one in Kanto and Olivine's here. So some old dude up in Blackthorn decided to take all the information from the still standing ones, and then make a school."

"What?"

"Weird, right? But the thing is, they're planning to take in trainers who know what they're doing and teach them how to save themselves, their Pokemon, and eventually other people. You know, like doctors. Medics, really."

"That sounds like... a good idea."

"I heard that you can't have all combat-focused Pokemon, though. Like, if you have all Steel-types, you need to get a Water or a Grass or a Psychic."

"Thanks for telling me."

"No problem."

* * *

_Ilex Forest is full of Grass-types, weak enough that they tremble when Talon soars overhead. She had to threaten a Pokemon Centre's Abra into sending her here, but at least she knows what she is looking for._

_She catches an Oddish, and then hikes backward until she reaches Violet City. The Pokemon here are weak and easily quelled, but they watch all the time, even as the Oddish – Sage – grows stronger. She evolves once, and then they are ready._

_She does not want to be useless anymore. To save anyone is better than saving no one at all._

"...Why are you here?"

"I'm one of the sentries to keep anyone going to Blackthorn safe. Are you trying to get to the school?"

"Yeah."

"You look like you already went through hell. The Ice Path is cold. You could freeze to death even without a swarm attacking you."

"I have a Fire-type."

"I'm sure. At least take some supplies on before you go in, alright?"

"Yeah, sure."

_As motivation goes, it is nothing besides crushing weight and guilt. But the guilt leaves her empty and she moves forward out of needing something to do, a way to reassure herself that she is not the selfish child of the past._

_It is dark, and cold. They are together now, always – Sage the Gloom left out so that if she attacks, Flare can take care of her. When they stop to rest, they huddle around Flare, and Shard eventually evolves and shares the task of leading. It is easier, then, when neither he nor Flare look like the pups Sasha gave her._

_She tries to discard those memories when she can, but they come up at the worst times._

* * *

"Is this the school?"

"Blackthorn Medic Academy, yes. I assume you want to learn? Come in. We have a healing machine like the Pokemon Centres, but it's under protection and not to be used except in dire circumstances. What are your Pokemon's levels?"

"Low fifties. The Gloom is new – she's fifteen lower."

"You'll need to train her up, then. Bellossom is a useful evolution to have – we can give you a Sun Stone for that. You'll be partnered with someone else to learn together, and train and do whatever else. Claire is supposed to be in charge here, but she usually delegates to her assistant, Nemian. You'll be listening to him, most of the time."

"Alright. My team – they need to rest." _She knows she should too, knows that if she keeps going one of them might just trip her and pin her down so she stops walking, but she needs to move, needs to keep going._

_Staying still, resting... memories and dreams and nightmares._

"That's fine. We've gotten more interest than we expected, but we still have enough rooms that you can have one for yourself. The Academy is built into a part of the Dragon's Den, so we're well fortified. Here – this can be yours. What's your name?"

"Tala."

"Last name?"

"...Eiru."

"Oh, like the tournament trainers? Not many of those here are as distinguished – "

"Shut up. Please."

"...You have a day or two to settle in. You'll meet your training partner tomorrow. Mess hall is down and to your right, the classrooms and halls to the left."

_She does not sleep until they are all around her, warm weights on her legs and chest and at her sides. It is impossible otherwise, and she knows now not to waste time trying. _

_It never occurs to her to think about what she is doing to them._

* * *

"So, you're the newbie I'm supposed to team up with, huh?"

"Go away."

"What are you, stupid? They're going to yell at me if I don't talk with you."

"I don't care. Go _away_."

"So who died?"

_He sounds like her, so much, with his refusal to accept her dislike as an answer and leave. His words hurt far more than Sasha's ever did, though._

"What?"

"You look like you haven't showered, and you smell like it. A quarter of the Academy is as unwashed and battered. Hate to tell you, but you're not the only one with martyrdom on the mind. A lot of people died, recently. A lot of people come just because of that."

"Oh..."

"So can you tone down on the moping?" _He scrutinizes her, continues to blissfully avoid her glare. _"You know, you look a bit shrimpy."

"..."

"What's that look for? What, want some coffee?"

"Can you shut up and leave me alone?" _She knows what is supposed to happen, that his stupid, cheerful face will cloud over with fear, that he will back down and leave her alone forever._

_Torrent comes up and looms, growling softly._

_What should happen does not._

"Someone's touchy. You really make a horrible bully, you know? I bet that brute is a big softie." _He pats Torrent's snout, ruffles her hair. _"You look like a boy. You should grow your hair out – did you let your Pidgeotto nest in it?"

"Shut _up_."

"I will if you tell me your name."

"Isn't it on paper or something?" _He arches an eyebrow and waits. _"I'm Tala Eiru."

"Redrick Serac."

"...It's nice to meet you."

"Liar, but it's nice to meet _you_. See ya~"

* * *

_He always acts like that, mocking and lighthearted and as if nothing bothers him. He blatantly follows her and points the way out when she gets lost, and meets all her Pokemon. It infuriates her, that he seems so normal._

"Hey, I got the food."

"Nnn...?"

"No, don't get up, I'll just put it down here... So you nap whenever you can, huh?"

"It's not that."

"It's fine. I'm amazed you can fit them all into the room anyways."

"Thanks for the food."

"Eiru, huh? I've heard that name before."

_She freezes, because she does not want to listen to more adoring prattle about her parents and their victories._

"So what?"

"My mentor died."

"..."

"She was training a new team. Bagon, Dratini, Gabite... She was confident. She was a gym trainer here for years, so she was good, you know?"

"A... friend." _And he nods and doesn't smile for once. She is grateful. _"I heard my parents went missing."

"They probably went to team up with the Elite Four. Want some?" _He gestures with the mug of coffee and she wrinkles her nose._

"Do you drink that muck all the time?"

"Muck? _Muck_, says the one who sips soggy _leaves_. My beverage has flavour and elegance and sophistication. Anyways, I need it."

"Can't you sleep?" _He grins until she asks, and then it falters, like glass cracked and proving to be an illsuion._

"No."

_He gets up and brings her some tea. She realizes, later, that he is apologizing. By the second week, she can't either._

* * *

_She is helpless as life bleeds out between her hands. Helpless as buildings collapse and people die and all they can do is barely enough to hold things together._

_Why did she bother? She can't do anything no matter what happens. Her fate is to stand and watch as the world burns._

* * *

No.

Let me wake up, let me wake up –

Your fate is to act.

I want to –

* * *

"_That took so long..."_

"_It was necessary."_

"_You're sure?"_

"_I know enough now."_

* * *

Wake up.


	9. 7: Blessed Oathbreakers

**AN: **The erratic formatting of most of the fic is bugging me, but I'm too lazy to fix and re-upload it. I probably will eventually, though. We're a little over halfway, and unfortunately this chapter is heavy on the exposition. I'm not sure if it even makes proper sense and if it works without being too clunky, but that could just be my usual nitpicking. So, yeah. Allow me to continue begging for reviews~ The subplot is finally coming into place, but hopefully my hints weren't too subtle.

Chapter 7 – Blessed Oathbreakers

The first thing she was aware of was that her head was hurting, completely different than the headaches from exhaustion or nightmares. It was like there was too much in her head, tangles of thought and memories, and something strange, like a dream that was fading from her mind. Regardless, it hurt – and as the dream or whatever it was disappeared, so did the jumble of thoughts.

She couldn't remember how she got here, or even what _here _was. The air was... musty, and dry. Her throat was dry too, and her eyelids heavy, but she forced them open.

It was _dark_.

Not middle of the night dark, or pitch black with no moon dark, but no natural light dark. Was she in... a cave? The floor was smooth, though, and caves weren't dusty.

A terribly familiar voice said, guiltily, "Oh, you're up."

The first sound that she made was a croak, and then the other spoke up again, voice loaded with even more guilt. "Ah, I'm sorry – I have some tea, but you need light too, right?"

There wasn't a sound to trigger it, but a blue-green radiance appeared, spreading without becoming too bright. It was still too bright for her, though, and she blinked rapidly, waiting for her eyes to stop hurting. When things came into focus, she saw Aaron, one hand up and the light pouring from his palm like a stereotypical magician poster.

Aaron, who – her head was still reeling but she remembered this part now – had grabbed her and somehow pulled her away to somewhere else; Aaron, the one who had rubbed her the wrong way all this time.

Aaron, who was apparently a psychic.

Tala tried to think of something to say, and could only come up with obscenities, which seemed a pretty good choice right now.

"What the _fuck_, you _kidnapped _me? You_ – _" Her body seized up and she started to cough uncontrollably. Her throat felt like sandpaper, and she was sure she was about to throw up in between coughing her lungs out. That seemed to be the cue for her kidnapper to hover over her, forcing some sort of canteen to her lips before she killed herself. It was the promised tea, cool and too minty, but she could have cared less at the moment. It soothed her throat and mouth, and her stomach settled as well.

"Uh, that's better, right?" She nodded and reached for her Pokeballs and froze. They weren't there, and neither was the usual weight of Torrent's Pokeball on its necklace.

"You bastard, where are my Pokemon?"

He raised his hands, the light wavering a bit. "They're safe, I promise – "

"Like I could trust _you,"_

"My... partner has custody of them right now. He's honourable, and he's coming soon so there's really no reason to worry." Did he really think that just saying she didn't need to worry would accomplish anything? Besides, he might have taken her Pokeballs, but she still had her Pokegear.

She clipped it off of her belt and accessed the call option, expecting Aaron to stop her. He just watched, face seemingly frozen in that apologetic look.

When she tried to contact Nemian, it started – but rather than patching through to him, she just heard an eerie set of... beeps or chirps. They repeated once, and then the Pokegear turned itself off.

Her skin crawled. That was... not supposed to happen.

"What... what just happened? Where is this place?"

Aaron sighed. "It's the only place I could think of that was safe and isolated. Ruins tend to be infested with Pokemon, even if humans no longer have any interest in them. The Pokemon here guard themselves, and this place, from the outside world." The glow from his hand washed over the room, and she finally got a good look at where she was.

It was a large stone chamber, covered with odd runes and pictures. It was dusty as well, but none of it was in ruins. The walls closest to her and Aaron had different inscriptions, hollowed out. Like there had once been something there...

She knew this place.

"The Ruins of Alph."

"Yes! I spend a lot of time here, and the Unown don't mind as long as I don't damage the walls or anything."

The thought that living pictures liked Aaron was unnerving. "Wait – you've been here before? How? I mean, you were at the camp all the..."

He was a psychic. A powerful one, if he could teleport her here as well as himself.

He smiled at her – the same sad smile before he had dragged her here. "I'm not a medic. I just came in as a trainee to make sure I found you."

If she had thought her skin was crawling before, she had definitely been wrong. "_What? _I mean – why me? And you're a _psychic_, how come no one knew? Why did you bring me here?"

Now he was looking distinctly uncomfortable, one hand rubbing his neck and the other uplifted to ensure they had steady light. "I... can't answer that. Not right now. I mean, I can tell you some things, but not the rest. And you have to be alright with that. I'm sorry that I lied to you and dragged you out here, but it was necessary."

Tala tried to remind herself that he was a psychic and could probably teleport out of the way if she tried to punch him. Or throw up a shield or something. Still, it was difficult to resist the temptation. "Fine. Tell me what you can, then."

"You should sit down. Would you like more tea?"

"No."

He shrugged and sat down, and eventually she did so too. When he looked up at her, his whole manner had changed. He didn't look guilty or sad at all – just calm. "My partner and I... want to stop what's happening. And we have a plan, and it... involves you. My partner would draw attention if he did it alone, but we both watched you and how you interacted with others."

"How did you know about me in the first place?" she interrupted, and he grimaced.

"We... were watching the Academy for likely candidates. You seemed to be the best choice. I fooled several people in order to be attached to you. I'm not proud of it, but we needed this to happen. Of course, you were under surveillance by others, thanks to us showing interest, but I didn't think it would turn out as badly as it did." It took her a moment to catch that – and then something clicked.

"You were watching me. And because you were watching me... Sage attacked?" He sighed and nodded. "You mean because of _you –_ "

"It would have happened eventually anyways. The medics themselves are becoming a target, and those attacking aren't..." He paused and looked down.

She was getting tired of this. "This is so _vague_. Would it kill you to be more specific?"

"My partner – "

"My partner this, my partner that – who is he?"

Another sigh. "I can't tell you that. But I can tell you that... the ones watching you, who started this whole mess, are Pokemon."

"Tell me something new."

He frowned at that, and there was that flash again of something older and wiser. She couldn't help treating him as her bumbling, weird and completely untrustworthy assistant, and he... resented it. "Not like that. The Pokemon that swarm, even ones like Sage..."

"Don't talk about Sage."

"They're _innocent_," he insisted. "They're not evil or anything. Sage probably was hurting herself with her attempts to kill you, and she tried to do it in the easiest way possible, so you wouldn't be hurt."

Her hands were clenched, nails digging into her palms. "I told you not to talk about Sage," she said heatedly.

"Think past your idiotic grief and _listen to me_!" he shouted. Stunned, she just stared, and he took a breath, exhaling slowly. "Look, I'm trying to explain as much as I can. The Pokemon you've encountered are being... manipulated. Convinced. Not _tricked_, but they don't end up having a choice. The higher levelled Pokemon, the ones with the strongest bonds – they take the longest to sway. Pokeballs form a sort of attachment, but it's weak at first, so only those in Master Balls stay loyal forever. Or at least, we think they will but there's no way to be certain. And of course, if there's direct influence..." He broke off and looked down. "What happened to Sage was a case of direct influence, and rare. It... shouldn't happen again."

"You're not making sense," she said, voice hoarse.

He made an odd gesture with his hand, the glow brightening and dimming. "I'm sorry, but I can't be more direct. Please believe me. We... did not plan for what happened to Sage, and it... sped things up. Our involvement was... noticed. And _you _were noticed, and that forced us to do this."

It was like someone had handed her a puzzle with four fifths of the pieces missing, and the rest scrambled horribly. "So... what?" There was something she couldn't stop thinking of, a memory she had tried to forget for a long time. "Am I some sort of chosen one? Destined to do something? To –" She stopped, trying to figure out where she had heard that before. _To act. _

The weird light from his palm made him look paler than ever, hardly even human – but now he was white, and staring at her with this heartbroken look. He had been looking apologetic and sad this whole time, but this was different, and it made her skin crawl.

"Not a chosen one. Or if chosen... by the wrong people. By circumstance," he said softly. She turned away and leaned her head against her legs, wishing she could shut him out, and this mess, and everything. She had questions, but there was also this feeling of being adrift. Aaron knew a lot more than he was telling her – he had admitted it – and she didn't have her Pokemon or Redrick or even Senica to steady her.

"What do you want?"

He coughed. "To save the world. To fix this."

"And what do you want with _me_?"

There was a long silence, and she lifted her head to look at him. Aaron finally said, steadily, "I cannot tell you that. You'll find out soon enough. My partner should be coming back." She was about to try and ignore him again when he added, "I... told you as much as I could. If you think, you might be able to put things together on your own. It might be better that way."

The trouble was that she didn't want to think right now. There was too much going on, too many questions, and she had never thought that she would be stuck like this, surrounded by plans and motives without any say. One of the reasons she had eventually started enjoying her journey had been because no one was hovering around and arranging things for her.

Well, except Sasha, but Sasha was –

_Different_, a part of her wanted to say, but she had promised herself that she wouldn't think about her at all, because Sasha was dead.

"You promise that I'll get my Pokemon back?"

He smiled at her. Not the usual sad smile, or the tentative one from when he had pretended to be a trainee, but a warm one, almost comforting. "I promise."

"Can you... leave me alone? For a bit?"

He shrugged, thinking it over. "I probably can't. You'd try to leave and get lost, or the Unown would try to stop you from doing anything, and it'd take time to calm them down."

"Oh."

"I could... sit in the corner or something?"

She managed a weak chuckle at that. "Yeah, sure. Whatever."

She wasn't sure if she wanted to eat or sleep more, but she wouldn't manage the latter without her Pokemon, not in this state. Thankfully, Aaron saved her the shame of asking for food by leaving the canteen with her and digging out some foil wrapped sandwiches. He did, in fact, move to the corner, and stared at the wall with such focus that she guessed he was meditating.

She had nothing left to do after that, so she nibbled and ignored how stale the bread was. Supplies had been low everywhere, and as long as it distracted her from... everything, she could care less what she was eating.

The room was empty other than a small pack that had to be Aaron's, the canteen and foil near her, and the dusty walls. Once, a small glyph shone for a moment, and then the corresponding Unown slipped into the room, circling it and giving her a coughing fit before leaving. It had been small and... shy, or at least with more manners than Aaron, because it chirped at her once. Unfortunately, it reminded her of before, when the world had been full of wonder and she had been happy and to travel and discover new things, with her team and Sasha, had been all she had wanted.

She could have lived like that. And when she wasn't fooling herself, she knew that this wasn't really living, just working and doing her best. And if it somehow stopped, or Aaron fixed everything, she would no longer belong.

Tala had thought it would be impossible to fall asleep. She was right, and the wall grew increasingly uncomfortable to lean against as time passed. She couldn't just forget everything, and sliding into a trance like Aaron was hardly an option either. All she had left was to try to think of something, and Aaron _had _suggested to try and piece together things on her own.

The Pokemon were being convinced by something, and it or they were Pokemon as well. At least, she thought that was it. But even if it was a Pokemon that led a... tribe or whatever, that didn't explain how there were so many. And Aaron had kept mentioning influence, which had made no sense. Maybe the Pokemon were Psychics? But even an Alakazam wouldn't be that powerful, to be able to spread some sort of control around all of the regions. It would have to need an amplifier, or many amplifiers, and any high-tech ones were probably destroyed. It didn't make sense. There were no Pokemon like that, with that sort of power, except in myths...

And something wrenched inside her head, vague memories of something wrong against a cloudy sky, light sliding off of almost invisible features, and that disastrous first encounter in Ecruteak. She didn't want to even think about it, let alone believe it, but nothing else seemed to make sense. Aaron could be lying, or just trying to confuse her, but she couldn't think of a reason for that...

She must have made some noise, because Aaron looked up, his concentration broken. "Tala, what's wrong?"

"The Pokemon... are being influenced by other Pokemon. Powerful ones. That's what you said, right?" He nodded slowly. "Powerful enough to be considered rare? Or only mentioned in stories?"

She thought he would be happy that she figured it out, or something, but he had gone right back to being sorrowful. "Yes. That's it."

"_I thought you would have more sense than to tell her before my arrival,"_ a cold voice broke in. It was just as familiar, and she felt her stomach lurch as the Gallade appeared, form wavering for a moment. It must have been from the Teleport, because he looked completely fine a second later. His eyes were surrounded by a flare of blue light, and she found it difficult to look away. _"Hello, Tala Eiru."_

She couldn't explain why her throat was suddenly so dry. He had never had this presence before. It was... unnerving. "You're Aaron's partner," she guessed. "Not just his Pokemon."

"_That is correct." _The Gallade turned away, to Aaron now, and snapped, _"Explain your reasoning."_

He didn't look as discomfited as before, and apparently having an angry Psychic talking to him was easier to deal with than her. "She has already had some sightings of them. You confirmed it. It isn't that necessary to have more proof."

"_There have already been too many new factors and unforeseen occurrences. I do not wish to deal with more, but I will accept your reasons for the time being." _The way he was talking now was even more formal – and there was this odd resonance, like an echo of something whenever he spoke. However, this wasn't all that important, because with an odd ripple – like the air being pulled back as if it were a curtain – her Pokeballs appeared. She got to her feet and walked over.

"Those are mine."

"_I know,"_ he assured her.

The air stirred strangely and she stopped, wary of an attack. "Give them to me, then." She hated how plaintive she sounded just then. A child begging for a treat, but they were her team, and she couldn't handle this without them.

Its eyes were cold, just like its voice. _"Not just yet. I would like you to answer my questions first."_

"What, so fucking _abducting _me isn't enough, and you have to interrogate me too? They're mine, you can't just keep them from me like this!" she shouted, and ran forward, aware that what she was doing was very, very stupid. But maybe he didn't have a barrier up, and if she could surprise him and just _reach _them –

He didn't flinch away from the punch, as she might have hoped. He didn't fling her back, either. She felt herself lift, and she dangled in front of him with her arm uselessly outstretched. _"You are not the first human to try that," _he said, and for once there was a flicker of amusement, not just that foreign detachment. _"Perhaps, even now, we have a chance." _He stretched out his own arm, and she watched, eyes widening, as the air around his hand glowed and shredded like it was paper. Neat squares rippled and peeled away and disappeared, and with a flick of his hand, he set her back onto the ground.

The room shimmered as the rest of the... illusion, she supposed it was, fragmented and disappeared. She felt sick, watching. All this time, and she had been beside... him. His tail waved slowly, coiling in on itself and then uncurling in a hypnotic movement as she stared.

"Oh. Do I... should I bow, or something?"

"_I do not maintain the illusion that you would even if I told you to," _Mewtwo said evenly.

It was rather embarrassing to admit that he was quite taller than her, and having to look up at him only increased his general aura of something to respect and fear. It didn't help that she knew he could probably crush or kill her without ever even twitching. She had never liked Psychic-types, and he was... the epitome of one.

"_You may also not like my kind due to your complete lack of a mental shield. It is rather easy to read your mind," _he told her. She spluttered, and he added, _"However, given I would wish us to work together and have some measure of trust, I shall refrain from doing so."_

"How nice. And I can trust the word of a Psychic?" she sneered, proud that her voice didn't crack or tremble.

"_The word of one who had every opportunity to harm you for at least three days' time, and did not." _There was a pause, and then he added imperiously, _"The kidnapping does not count. It was necessary, and if you had stayed, you only would be in more danger."_

Aaron, who had quietly backed out of the conversation, coughed. "Um, perhaps we should continue? I mean, she needs to know more if we're to do anything." Mewtwo's eyes narrowed, but that odd blue light faded, and he nodded curtly.

"_You have had encounters with legendary Pokemon before," _he said _"Are you aware of that?"_

She didn't want to think of that. "No. I don't know what you're talking about," she said, desperately trying to keep her voice steady. Aaron opened his mouth to say something and then stopped, while Mewtwo just inclined his head – it barely counted as a nod.

"_You have met Entei once, and you have been followed by two separate legendaries for the last two weeks. Are you aware of that?"_

It felt like all her blood had turned to ice. She had been _followed_? "I... didn't know that. But..."

"_Yes?"_

"How did you – how did you know about Entei?"

Aaron inserted himself into the conversation again, eyes cast down. "We... well, when I knocked you out, Mewtwo decided to... look through your mind. And your memories of what had happened. Just to be sure that you were who we thought you were."

She should have expected this. He was a Psychic-type, they were both gifted with those kind of abilities... It wasn't like she had trusted them in the first place. Still, it felt... not like a betrayal, but an intrusion. "I didn't think it was, at first, and it happened so fast... but you shouldn't have looked at – at that. At _me_."

"_I apologize, but it was necessary."_

She couldn't resist trying to hurt him, try to find some way to break his calm. Didn't he feel bad about what he was doing? "What, like abducting me?"

He considered her, purple eyes untroubled. His tail lashed once, but for a few seconds, he was silent. She thought for a moment that she had scored a point when he continued, implacable and clearly not feeling a shred of the guilt visible on Aaron's face. _"The very same. You researched Pokemon at the academy, did you not? There were bound to by some records of a Pokemon who moved quickly. A Pokemon that would be revered. A Pokemon whose will would be obeyed."_

He didn't mention the fact that she had had nightmares of being helpless and frozen, or of waking up and seeing a red-tinged shadow pace into the room and she _couldn't move_.

She had made the mistake of mentioning it once, to Redrick. He had conferred with someone else, pronounced it sleep paralysis and something to do with your body being convinced that you were dreaming when you were awake, and offered to give her something to help fend it off. She took the pills once and then said it never happened again and the comfortable moments in the Academy slipped past quickly enough that he never asked about it.

Was she supposed to feel grateful that he didn't say anything? It didn't matter. He had still seen it.

Suddenly, she wished she hadn't eaten those damn sandwiches, because her stomach was churning and if she threw up on his tail or something he'd probably crush her head with his mind. She wanted him and Aaron and their plan gone. She wanted to scream or throw a rock or _something_ but it felt like everything was made of fragile glass that was already cracked, and if she moved or raised her voice she would just collapse.

Tala wanted to at least pretend she had some sort of control over... anything. "Is that it? I... saw Entei. Alright. I want my Pokemon back now."

"_Are you aware that only a few trainers saw the legendary dogs?"_

She tried to scowl at him. The scowl wavered so she stopped. "So? They're fast and... stuff."

Aaron chose this time to remind her that he was still, unfortunately, here. "They visited the Pokemon in the Johto region first, and those few trainers who saw them... died as a result."

"Oh." That took a moment to sink in, and she felt cold, trying to slot in the tragedy that had been that day with an occurrence that happened in other places, with other trainers. Other deaths. "So how come they didn't kill me?"

She could have sworn that Mewtwo's voice – if it could be called a voice when it was in her head or out of her head but definitely not coming through her ears – was somewhat quieter. Softer. _"Their thoughts were... distracted then. As they are now. They have not rested properly for a long time," _he said. Then, after giving her a minute, he tilted his head. _"Do you know what this means?"_

She stayed silent and Aaron sighed, rubbing his head. "It means that you're one of the few people around from the beginning who actually witnessed it. What's going on, I mean. The actual process of it, not that you would feel or hear it..."

Yet again, he was talking about something that felt like it was shooting over her head. "Look, I don't care now. Can you just... give me my Pokemon?"

"But – "

"_Very well. Circumstance has marked you out to both us and the few orchestrating the tragedy. I would advise you to think on that," _Mewtwo said, not coldly – but there was something there, a breath of finality that made her shudder. Then her Pokeballs rolled towards her, and she couldn't even find the strength to care that Mewtwo and Aaron were leaving, or that one of the six was missing. She fumbled a few times, but she opened Torrent's, watching as the red light spread and stretched out before solidifying. He sniffed the air and growled softly before turning to look at her, and she didn't waste time in half-falling against him, wrapping her arms around as much as she could. He snorted, surprised, and lowered his head.

It was an awkward angle, but she felt his breath ruffle her hair. It was strange how comforting that single gesture was, but it gave her just enough strength to open the rest. Talon was next, flaring his massive wings, and then Flare and Rai and Shard. She had tended to use Shard for light – though he was small and produced no fire, his rings had a strong light, if not a particularly steady one. She preferred it to Aaron's light tricks, anyways, and though the room was now considerably more cramped, it felt... better like this. To sit here and close her eyes and know she was safe.

Of course, that safety was an illusion and Sage had proven that but she really didn't want to think about that right now.

They knew something was up, and she found herself wedged comfortably with Talon behind her, head dipped so he could absently preen her hair. Flare was curled up on her right, head resting on her knee, and Shard and Rai had somehow both managed to sort of fit on the rest of her lap. Torrent was crouched over on her left, and if he had leaned any harder she probably would have fallen over. Still, she felt better, surrounded by them. They steadied her in a way that no one else could.

"Uh," she began. "Aaron kind of kidnapped me to the Ruins of Alph after... that happened. And he's actually a psychic, and he has a partner who is Mewtwo and they have some really big plan to stop what's happening and save the world and I'm involved. Except they haven't told me what it is yet, and I think we're stuck here."

Saying it out loud made the whole situation seem even more unrealistic than before. If someone had told her this, she would have never believed them.

Talon seemed completely unimpressed and gently tapped her skull.

It wasn't exactly disapproval, but she winced anyways. "And... I'm sorry. For Sage. For not noticing and being stupid and letting her _die_ –"

She hated it when she was like this, when she cried and was weak. Crying couldn't do anything. Sure, there were old stories and fairytales of Pokemon tears bringing back the dead, but she wasn't a Pokemon anyways. It wouldn't have worked.

At least Aaron wasn't around now. Mewtwo had promised not to look in on her head – and if he kept that promise, then she was as alone as she could get. She could stand her team seeing her like this, but them, with their plans and powers and lies?

Shard whined softly, long ears laying back. She reached out to rub his head softly. "I'm sorry," she repeated. "For everything."

"_She is gone. I cannot find the trace anywhere."_

"_Yes. Perhaps it is just as well. We should return."_

"_There was so little innocence in the world. Now there will be none."_

"_It is almost over."_

"_Where the fuck did she go? Nemian left her alone for what, five minutes?"_

"_Not alone. With that assistant of hers."_

"_You didn't think to stay with her?"_

"_We were busy, she was conscious and healing – besides, Nem was there."_

"_And we see how well that went. The one reprieve we have after that insanity, and a medic goes missing. We already lost two more who slit their wrists, and her assistant has no records. This is winning the award for worst fucking day ever."_

"_Someone should look for her. I mean, outside the camp."_

"_Go die on your own time."_


End file.
